The Morphos Effect
by Beck2
Summary: The chapter of this story comes to an end, but one won't ever forget or be allowed to forget the journey.
1. South American teaching trip

Disclaimer: I, a poor fanfiction writer, own nothing of that which is property of Marvel. I do, however, own Danny, her numerous animal acquaintances, Arcane(should he show up), Julian(in this story his small form yet again returns!), and characters that I do decide to create for purposes of this story. It's plot is mine, because it has been preying upon my imagination for awhile, and I have been dying to write it. Other than that, please enjoy!

Morpho: A six inch long blue butterfly that lives in the South American Rainforests.

A/N

Another reg-verse Danny story! This idea has been buzzing in my head for quite a while now, and to tell the truth, I was a little nervous about writing it, it may take a walk on the weird side, but I'll try to keep it true to form for all my other fics and try to keep it from getting confusing. I know that's a bad habit on my part. Hope you all like it! 

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"I GOT IT! HAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

Leaves whipped around my face as I fell. I made a clumsy grab onto a vine, making it by scant inches. My prize was still in one hand as I went careening into the jungle, totally off balance and holding onto the vine for dear life.

_Silly girl, let your body go slack!_

I swiftly did what she said, and managed to get some control over my still swinging vine. Well, I wasn't twisting and turning anymore. I still couldn't get off. And I was heading right towards a bunch of trees.

"This.may hurt." 

_Jump silly girl!_  Some male voice yelled.

(You have got to be kidding.) I let go of the vine and went flying into a branch, which hit my stomach. I doubled over the branch and winced as the bark roughly scraped my skin. On an upside, I wasn't flying through the air. And I had my prize.

A slightly squashed fruit.

A very smelly squashed fruit, that stunk really bad. And now the juice was all over my hand. But that was okay. Because I got it.

The branch I was clinging too took a sudden dip and I yelped, hanging on as the tree branch swayed. I was quite a bit higher than the ground. It would not do to fall.

A large monkey, just having jumped on my branch, reached out and plucked the fruit from my grasp.

"Hey! No fair!"  I glared at the large howler monkey. He just gave me a grin with his teeth full of fruit. I really wasn't that angry. I wasn't going to eat the fruit anyway, it stunk pretty bad, but still, I climbed up that tree and got it. And he stole it!

Not that I was in any condition to climb up and take it back. I wasn't about to go cavorting through the trees just to get back a fruit that I didn't especially want to eat. But still, it was the principle of the thing.

"Ah, a fine young male of the species, Alouatta palliate, is it?" 

I almost lost my grip in surprise. The male gave a little growl and jumped up higher into the tree. Taking a glance over my shoulder, I saw that Mr. McCoy was sitting on a branch not far away, looking incredibly amused.

Of course, this couldn't have been to the fact that I was hanging off a tree branch some forty feet off the ground in shorts and a t-shirt in bare feet, or that I had been glaring at a monkey, or that I obviously didn't know how to get up or down off the branch I was doubled over.

"Hello, Mr. McCoy."

"Hello Danny. Aren't you supposed to be back at camp? This is supposed to be a grading exercise."

I groaned inwardly. The grownups had come up with the idea that not only were we to go to school, but we had to come onto these little fieldtrips to complete grades that the Professor had laid down to help with the fact that many of us were being forced to take classes that weren't challenging us. Not that I was complaining, it was great to visit new places, especially the old ruins and the foreign cities, but I couldn't seem to resist wandering off, and more often than not, I got into trouble for it. Earlier this morning, a bunch of howler monkeys camped out above our camp, and I had to go talk to them. 

Partially because some of the other girls threatened to take away my clothes if I didn't get the big alpha to stop howling.

I did, started talking to some of the older females, and got caught up in a game that some of the younger monkeys were playing. And I lost track of time.

"Oops." I gave him a little grin. Really, I wanted not to make so much trouble. I never liked making trouble, or making people upset with me, though that didn't mean I wasn't going to stand up for myself. 

"Do you need help down?" He asked, swinging easily over to a closer branch. I was insanely jealous. I wanted to be able to do that! It looked fun.

"Yes, sir. Please." I tentatively held out a hand, afraid that only one hand holding onto the branch wouldn't be enough. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me over and dropped to the ground.

"YAAH!" I panicked and grabbed his neck, holding on like I was going to die. In no time, though, we were on the ground and he was trying to detach me from his throat.

"Perhaps I should have warned you." He said apologetically.

"Yeah.Maybe.Just a little warning." 

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"These ruins are many centuries old, belonging to a people whom deserted them for reasons unknown even now."

Ms. Monroe was pointing to the outer wall of a massive ruin. I looked up, amazed. It wasn't everyday you see something like that. A giant pyramid shaped temple, a massive stone wall.this place must have been something else some several thousand years ago.

Our big group, consisting of Scott, Jean, Ray, Kitty, Sam, Rogue, Rahne, Jubilee, and myself, split of into three smaller ones, following our guides on this tropical adventure. My guide was Mr. Logan, who had been less then amused when I snuck off earlier that day and vowed to keep a close eye on me. Scott and Kitty were in my group. Scott confused me a bit. He had already graduated, yet he was sticking around. I bet it was for Jean. She wasn't quite graduated yet.

Kitty bounced around in her normal, happy go lucky attitude. Scott was looking at rocks that were obviously part of a wall with feigned interest. I was letting my mind wander.

Doggy had not been allowed to come on this little trip down to South America. Not only was it illegal for dogs to cross the border, but he might catch some sort of disease down here. That was always a risk when moving animals to different regions. So, I left my dogs with Julian and Jamie, who weren't allowed to come either. But on a happier note, they were camping with Kurt, with this mutant called Angel. I never caught his real name, but apparently he'd been itching to go out and fly somewhere where he wouldn't be seen, and he was well-known by the Professor and some of the others. Julian practically was bouncing off the walls when he heard. He was so cute when he was excited. So I just had to let him go.

The jungle was nice and loud, and not just in the way of the ears. Colors were splashing everywhere, and the background noise had been almost deafening when I first came. The Professor offered to help me control the noise, but I don't think I'll take him up on it. After all, it's better to hear them then not too. I wasn't sure why. It was comforting to hear them.

"Doolittle! Don't lag!" Mr. Logan's gruff voice growled. I immediately sped up. Mr. Logan was going to take us into the forest and teach us some stuff about survival. The three groups were taught different things and then cycled out, so they could learn something else. This was our time with Mr. Logan. Personally, I was more interested in the ruins, but this could be fun too.

Yeah. Survival training with Mr. Logan. Fun.

_!!!!!!_

"Hunh?" I jerked my head around to look at something that wasn't there. It was just as I suspected. Nothing was there.

"Doolittle! Get over here!"

"Sorry! I'm coming!" I ran to catch up, pushing away the strange call as a trick of hearing. For all I knew, it was just some monkey arguing with it's sibling.

Nothing to worry about.

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Please leave a review in the magical box below!


	2. Survival Taining and Strange Signals

A/N:

A nice long chapter! I hope you like it!

Butterfly Effect: the propensity of a system to be _sensitive to initial conditions_. Such systems over time become unpredictable, this idea gave rise to the notion of a butterfly flapping it's wings in one area of the world, causing a tornado or some such weather event to occur in another remote area of the world

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"EWW! Mr. Logan, that is so disgusting, I am not eating that." Kitty was hiding behind Scott, shielding her eyes from Mr. Logan's choice of snack.

"When you're running around in a deserted area with no people, you'll thank me for this training. These are things you need to know, half-pint."

"No offense Logan, but I'm a little grossed out too. I don't see how eating that thing is going to help us survive."

"Alright." Mr. Logan growled," If you two aren't man enough, let's see if Doolittle will do it. Doolittle?"

Uh oh.

"Uh…yeah?" I said a little weakly.

"Part of your grade." He tossed the thing he had been threatening Kitty and Scott with at me. It was a large, dead, very very dead, dragonfly. It had big green wings. I just stared at it.

"What are you waiting for? It's good for you."

"I'm sure it is sir, but I uh, like my bugs with mustard." I said, still staring at the dead bug. "Do I have to eat this? You realize this could be poisonous?"

"I've eaten enough bugs in my lifetime to know which is which, Doolittle. Nothing wrong with a little protein." He pointed at the bug, and I got the distinct impression that he was ordering me to eat it. I was considering the option of dropping the bug, running away, ultimately getting caught and having to eat five more. It paled in comparison to only eating one bug. But still.

_!!!!!!!!!_

"Hunh?" I jerked my head around, which was kind of useless, since I couldn't really tell where that call came from anyway.

"Doolittle, quit yer stalling. And don't even think that little 'I-hear-animals-they-need-help-bit' is gonna get you out of it. I know you."

True, he did. I made the mistake of telling him once that I take pains not to mess with habits of animals, feeding habits above all. So excusing myself to save a lizard from a monkey wasn't going to work. But…that wasn't a monkey.

"I…" I shook my head. I turned my attention back to the bug, or at least tried too. The bug looked very unappetizing. 

"Don't make her eat it Logan, just the thought of it creeps me out."

"Well." Mr. Logan had a sly look on his face. "To pass my class you have to eat one. I'd have you eat more, but Chuck says I shouldn't until you're more ready. So when you're ready…" He trailed off and set of through the jungle. 

"Eww…Do you think if I make a really good grade with all the other teachers I can, like, carry this failed grade?" Kitty wrinkled her nose as I dropped the bug to the ground.

"Come on, let's go back to camp. It's almost lunchtime." Scott walked in the direction that Mr. Logan had gone. Kitty and I brought up the rear.

_!!!!!!!!!_

What is that? I narrowed my eyes and stopped, glaring at the ground in front of me. The signal seemed to come from everywhere at once, but it came out of nowhere. Usually voices have a distinct starting point, just like voices a person hears. But this one just pops up out of nowhere and surrounds.

_!!!!!!!!_

Not to mention the fact that it was getting more frequent. And what kind of beast created a thought pattern like that? I concentrated on trying to find the thoughts again. I thought I came across them, but…

"Danny? Hello, earth to Danny!" Kitty waved a hand across my face. I stared at her for a moment. 

"You okay?" She asked, a little worried.

"I've heard it this morning." I said a little incoherently. I was still trying to grab strands of thoughts that weren't there, or were they? They seemed to disappear and reappear with no real rhyme or reason, and I couldn't get any sort of information out of them, like it had the thoughts of a beast, but it wasn't truly the mind of a beast…

"Mabe we should go back to camp, this could be, like, Malaria!" 

Like…Rahne, a little. No, it was almost exactly like Rahne. 

_!!!!!!!!!!!!_

 "Danny!" Kitty grabbed my shoulder and yanked, breaking my concentration. Immediately, everything I had worked for to bring the thoughts into clearer focus disappeared. I seriously considered yelling at her, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. She was just worried about me.

"I'm fine. Let's go back to camp." I moved hurriedly in front of her and walked back down the path we had taken. Scott and Mr. Logan were already farther ahead.

It was so strange. When I had been concentrating, the signal seemed to almost take on a point, a point of origin, but now I couldn't even hear the signal anymore.

And I wasn't sure I wanted to anymore.

It sounded angry.

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"Ooph!" Jean groaned when Rahne accidentally kicked her in the side. Rogue was scrunched up on the other side of me and we were trying to find a place that was comfortable enough for all of us.

Jubilee will never be allowed near tent construction again. Ever. I don't know how the tent suddenly burst into flames, but I suspect fireworks had something to do with it. Now we had to cram all the girls in a tent.

We were lucky it was a big one, but still. It had not been my great ambition to be sleeping in a cramped tent with five other girls.

I found myself huddled close to the tent flap. If I curled myself up there was a good bit more room. The other girls were thankful of this, though Jean and Rahne seemed to be having a bit of a silent war for space.

When everyone got settled down and snores began floating around the tent, I found myself in fairly close quarters to Kitty, whom I could tell was watching me.

"Can't sleep?" I asked quietly.

"What was that back there? In the jungle? What did you hear?"

"It…was nothing. Just a weird thought."

Kitty scrunched her nose up, giving it a little thought. Then she shook her head. "Nope. Give me more than that."

"I keep hearing…this weird thing. It's not a voice, and it isn't quite just a cry."

"What's the difference?"

"A voice carries with it a specific thought, a meaning. A cry just gives off emotion, an animal that's in a fight will cry out if it gets hurt, just like a human does." I began playing with the edge of my sleeping bag. It felt weird, telling other people about these things. It's like trying to describe a language that only I could understand with insight I only had. Plus, people tended to look at me funny when I try to tell them what exactly an animal is thinking. Lots of stuff end up getting lost in translation.

"So what's up with this one?" She asked curiously. Great. I appealed to her curiosity, now she would never leave me alone.

"It sounds really angry, and I guess it's saying something, but I can't seem to get any sort of understanding out of it. And that's not the weird thing."

She leaned in closer, totally captivated by the mystery. "What?"

"I think…it's almost as if it's disappearing and reappearing spontaneously. The thought pattern of this…whatever it is…is choppy and it keeps on going through silent modes, then it just pops up again."

"Like phasing?" She said wonderingly.

"No…sort of, but…when you phase, you still think. When you pushed Cassius through a wall that one time, I didn't stop hearing him, which by the way, he really hated and that's why he always growls at you."

"He was trying to make off with my brownies, which I baked for you guys!"

"In which case I am grateful." That he ran off, I silently added.

"Okay, what else?"

"Nothing. That's all I know."

There was a slight bit of silence between us for a few minutes.

"Hey Kitty."

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone about what happened?"

"Well, you like, seemed okay afterwards, and I know sometimes you just sit in your room, like, talking, and I figured it probably happens all the time!" 

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway."

"Maybe we should tell them." Kitty looked really worried. "I mean, what if it's like the Juggernaut or something? It could really hurt someone."

"I haven't heard it for awhile. I think we're okay."

_!!!!!!!!!_

Speak of the beast.

I jerked up my head. Kitty shot up in her sleeping bag, falling onto Jean, who immediately woke up.

"What's going on?" She demanded sleepily, waking up everyone else. I kicked out of my sleeping bag and dashed out of the tent, wearing nothing but my sleeping shorts and an old blue t-shirt.

"Danny!"

_!!!!!!_

There, my concentration was paying off. I had a general direction. A few more minutes and I could pinpoint the cause.

Of course, a part of me was muttering something like 'really stupid idea' but if I listened to my conscience more often, then I would have never gotten into half the things I get into.

Perhaps that isn't the best argument.

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Drunk On Tang: I take it you like the story? I hope you like this chapter too!

Radical-Seto: No, I don't think Arcane will be in this one. However, I'm thinking about putting up a side story with Julian and the others on their camping trip, he might show up there.

Asteria: Yeah, that is a great idea! Thanks for bringing it up. I like Morphos too, they strike me as a little gaudy, but they're perfect for what  plan on using them for.

Flamestrike: Knowing me? I guess I have a reputation. Well, I hope I fulfill you expectations!

Dragonet: But of course. If it was boring there would be no reason to write it.

Anee: Wow, I'm glad you receive it so well.

Marian: Yes, I have read her books, and no, Danny is not a rip-off. I had a problem with someone saying that in the past, and it isn't that way. No offense to you if you didn't mean to get me on this train of thought, but I tend to be extremely protective over my creations. And when someone wrote that statement to me, it was a massive blow to my patience. However, something tells me you didn't mean to get me on this train of thought, so please excuse my little rant; I probably should rein it in. Sorry. Anyway, I see you like the chapter, thank you very much! I'm always glad to see new reviewers, or at least, I assume you are new, my memory is simply awful sometimes. I hope you like this chapter too!

Okay! Tune in next time: The Beast That Is Not a Beast!

Please leave your reviews on the way out!


	3. The Beast That is Not a Beast

A/N

Well, this story is moving quite along! I'm so glad to see so many wonderful reviews, thank you all so much!

**death**** wish** - the only wish that always comes true, whether or not one wishes it to

Curiosity-A desire to know about people or things that do not concern one; nosiness.

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Angry.

Savagely angry.

What was I doing? Why did I keep going even though I knew that whatever it was would be less than happy to see anyone?

Because I was curious. That was all that it boiled down too. Curiosity.

Curiosity will kill me one of these days, if it didn't tonight.

Rushing headlong through the forest, I barely registered the surprised cries of animals that I woke up in my mad rush. My mind was totally focused on the signal.

It was strong now, it almost felt as if I could touch it, pull it right out of the air. But it was still disappearing. More than once I blindly ran forward until I heard it again.

I didn't really see the roots of the tree sticking out of the ground until too late. I had ignored my better instincts and rushed into a dark spot without slowing. I hit the ground roughly and tumbled down a steep incline, finally coming to a rest at the bottom. 

I stayed still for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts.

_!!!_

So much for that.

I got back onto my feet. The ground felt odd. I looked down and realized that I was standing on rock.

Was this there before? I must have gone pretty far away from camp. I shook the thoughts off. It was easy to find my way back. 

I stared at the darkened surroundings and I suddenly got a very bad feeling twisting in my stomach. 

It must have been well over a thousand years old. It wasn't very tall, but its pyramid shape distinguished it from its surrounding in the most ominous way imaginable. The wall had long since crumbled around its perimeter, so finding a way through it was simple enough. Moving through a large hole in the wall I found myself on a stone walkway that was devoid of moss or plant growth.

Now I was getting creeped out. The entirety of the ruins was covered in green undergrowth, yet I could see them perfectly, and this one path looked like it had been cleaned of undergrowth this morning. 

_!!!_

I could tell where it was coming from now. It was inside the pyramid. I wavered, suddenly having second thoughts, but steeled myself and went on, even as those thoughts niggled at the back of my mind. I walked down this strange path, passing buildings on either side. The buildings would put anyone in mind of altars, perhaps people sending grain to old gods.

Or maybe not grain. 

The moonlight suddenly showed overhead. I had no idea it had been hidden. Beams of light crossed the ruined structures on the sides of these roads, and if it were possible, they started looking just as menacing as the pyramid I was still walking toward. 

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Scratch that. This is a horrible idea. I should turn around.

_!!!_

I stopped at the bottom of the pyramid. Steps, totally overgrown with vines and green grass, went all the way to an opening almost three fourths up the ruin. I breathed softly, and put my foot on the first step. 

No sudden cataclysmic happening. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to check it out. Besides, just because I ran away didn't mean the signal would stop. It just means it would prey on my mind more. 

Better to go up, see what it is, and get it over with.

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"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"I didn't think it was that much of a problem, I mean she spends an entire day in her room at a time, this may be the way she speaks to them!"

"She only does that every great once in awhile. Which way did she run?"

"I can tell you that, 'Ro. She ran off Northwise. Right into the jungle."

Kitty fidgeted around the others. They blamed her partially for the younger girl rushing off into the wilderness. Wolverine got them into a circle. 

"Here's the plan. She ran off into the North, and we gotta be careful in there. Spread out into small groups and find her."

"Logan, why don't you just sniff her out?" Scott asked.

"I don't think she's realized this yet, but she could probably throw me off her scent of she really wanted too. Besides, if she starts running around in circles or something, I want you guys to be able to catch her if the scents too muddy too follow." Wolverine sniffed the air again. "Okay, move out. Keep an eye out. There's nastier things than Doolittle in this jungle."

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Almost to the top. Just a little bit farther. Only five more steps. Two more and I'd be able to see through the bottom of the opening.

I went up the last steps and peered nervously into the opening. Just as I was about to look into the inner sanctum of the ruin, the signal I'd been holding onto for the last seven steps disappeared. And in the ruin, I saw…

Nothing.

A little anti-climatic. I went up the last three steps and put my foot into the room. In the moonlight that was shining I could see strange symbols across the walls and what looked like an altar, just like the altars outside, except smaller. 

And like the path outside, it looked like it had been cleaned.

"What is going on?" I whispered to myself and took another step forward. This step did not yield any sort of damage, so I took another, and another. Pretty soon I was standing before that altar, staring down at stains that did not look like water marks. 

"Okay…Now…is ….really good time to leave. Really good time." I whispered quietly and started to turn around.

_!!!!_

I froze. I didn't dare turn around, because what kind of beast is residing in a place they used for sacrificial ceremonies?

_!!!_

Maybe if I waited long enough, it would disappear. Then again, maybe it wouldn't disappear, and I was about to get eaten. In that case, it would be much better to face the threat head on.

Wouldn't it?

I turned slowly around. My eyes slowly touched across the walls, and then…

It was massive. It almost blocked the moon. But there was still enough for me to see.

When I first saw it, I though immediately of a deer, or maybe a horse, but it seemed to be more deer. Though on second thought, most deer are not about six feet at the shoulder.  But as I allowed myself to take in all of the features that I could see by the dim moonlight, I knew that it wasn't something as harmless as a deer. The front hooves, or rather, paws, were locked in armored black scales, and at the edge of those paws were claws so sharp and tough that they were leaving claw marks in the floor. Traveling up from those paws, the scales gradually were replaced by dark, short hair, just like a deer or horse or other hoofed mammal. The back half of the creature was even more deer like, even down to the cloven hooves in the back legs. Those hooves were really shiny, I noticed. Where, had the template stayed true to form, a tiny white tail should have been, there was a whipping black tail. It seemed smooth, I think that it must be covered in hair. Sprouting from the shoulder blades (which, incidentally, seemed to be armored with bony ridges) lay two massive black wings, bat like in stature. The neck was powerful and arched, the under part of it lined with iridescent scales. The head had the features of a horse, long, but there seemed to be a draconian element to its shape. Of course, the two antler like horns piercing up from the brow only served to help that assumption along. Scales seemed to flurry  down from the sides of the face till the tip of the nose, which seemed to cater to a horse's soft nose.

Not that petting it was crossing any part of my mind right then.

And the eyes. The eyes were red with rage. I had never seen anyone's eyes go truly red with rage before. 

I don't think I want to experience it again anytime soon.

_!!!_

It reared and bucked. It tossed it's head, baring teeth that would put any big cat to shame and using it's front paws like a bear swatting the air around it. It took me a moment to realize that it didn't seem to see me. It was more busy trying to attack something I couldn't see.  And suddenly, I realized something else.

I couldn't hear it.

I could hear it, in my head, it was still screaming its strange signal that was neither cry nor voice, but I couldn't hear it with my ears. It was as if I was watching some sort of movie.

Though to my experience, movies don't leave massive gouges in the floor with their claws.

I scrunched up beside the altar. If it couldn't see me, there was a better chance that it could mistakenly hit me and still not know what it hit, making it angry. I wasn't quite sure, but I'm pretty sure making it more angry could be detrimental to my health.

As I hunkered down, hoping fervently that some vengeful paw didn't take out my existence altogether, I noticed some other strange things about the creature.

As if the things I had already noted weren't enough.

Wrapped around it's neck, ropes, long black ropes, were looped around and around its neck. In the middle of these ropes was a medallion, which had some sort of picture on it that I couldn't make out. And hair. The mane of the creature seemed to be bound in some sort of rope braid. As if the hair was being kept in place because someone took special care to braid the mane, and then cover it in leather so it wouldn't get loose. Looked like it was working.

The creature reared up suddenly again, though this time, it seemed to rear up in response to something else. As it tossed its head, something warm splattered across my face. I touched it.

Definitely not a water mark.

It was hurt now, spreading its wings in an effort to look big and scary, but even I could see it was hurt too badly to fight off what was attacking it. Dark liquid was pouring out of a wound that had opened up across its chest. 

I felt an intense wave of pity. And horrible fear. What if the monsters that attacked it turned on me? Were they even here? Were they monsters? 

What the heck was going on?!

A sudden thought hit me. What if I touched it? If it could claw up the floor, it was obviously here, wasn't it? Maybe it was like Kurt, teleporting back and forth. Maybe it was stuck. 

Maybe if I grabbed it, it would stay instead of disappearing again.

Maybe that was an incredibly stupid idea. Why, oh why, would I want to grab onto something that looked like it walked right out of some horrible fantasy?

Because I was curious.

"This is going to be one of my regrets in life, I know it." I surged from my protected spot beside the altar and grabbed onto the ropes around the beast's neck. They were real. I could touch them and feel them.

And it screamed.

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Wow, there was a lot of thoughts in this chapter. I hope you guys liked it!

Tune in Next Time: Something Wicked in the World or Stirring of The Morphos

Asteria: Glad you liked it! It was just a funny sidenote, but I liked it. 

Radical-Seto: If you liked the last chapter for its ominousness, then this one you should love. Glad you like it!

Chrissy: Thank you, I always was under the impression that talking to animals would be something really difficult to translate. Thank you for the compliments!

Arin Ross: Actually, I think I may have been a bit harsh, I hope I haven't scared her off, and I don't think the 72 point thing will work, it may look like I'm trying to compensate for something. I'm really glad you liked it! Tell Anee I'm glad she likes it too!

Anon(girl):I hope you and Fishy liked this chapter too! I'm always glad to see new reviewers, especially if they leave such nice reviews!

Raliena: I'm glad you liked the bug, I thought that was pretty funny myself. You know, a lot of people ask me who's taking reviews…

Drunk on Tang: I'm glad you love her, and I'm glad you like what I'm developing. This chapter was a little on the heavy side, but I'm going to start pulling towards humor again soon.

Rogue77: The definitions I found on the net. The Butterfly effect thing has been in existence forever, it occurred to me that it might be a good story idea when I heard some of my classmates talking about movie titles. Now, now, *waggles finger* if I told you the impact it has on the story as of yet, then it wouldn't be a surprise. 

Aicha: Thank you, it eases my mind greatly to know that. Sorry about the Arcane bit, but you may find something just as good in the works. And he may show up in the Camping Effect, I don't know just yet.

Well, people seem to miss the review takers, so I shall leave reviews in the hand (claws? Wings?)of little Herman, who has not shown up for my last few stories. 


	4. Demights and Disappearances, A Power Los...

A/N

An extra long chapter! I couldn't find a place to stop for this chapter that felt right, so it's about twice as long! Hope you guys don't mind (though somehow I doubt you will.).

Ferry: to carry

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The sound hit my ears, deafening them with it's high pitched scream. I screamed too, scared by the monster and startled at this sudden ability to hear the beast that a second ago I could only see. 

My hands were still on the ropes around its neck, and I was jerked up off the ground when the creature reared and screamed louder, echoing pain and fury. My grip suddenly slipped and I landed on my butt on the hard rock floor. It really stung.

I didn't have time to rub the sore spot though, because the draconian/horse-like head swung around and looked right at me.

It could see me. 

It snorted loudly, picking up one of its front paws and splaying the claws. It looked ready to swat my head off like a volleyball. 

There was no way I could stand up to something like this. It took concentration to pull the power into a form I could use, and right now concentration wasn't ranking high on my list. More like sheer panic. 

It was hesitating. Why?

I looked up at the creature. It still had it's paw raised as if to strike, but it seemed to be faltering, as if it didn't seem to know what it was doing. The eyes, which had been red with fury, were now some dark color that I couldn't make out in the dim light. 

It looked right at me, locking eyes with mine. The anger was gone, there was only confusion, desperation, and pain. It took a faltering step forward, and then collapsed.

Right on me. 

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"What was that?!" Logan stared off into the darkness. Ororo's group of students came up beside him. She looked around curiously.

"What was what?"

"Keep your eyes open. There's something that shouldn't be in this jungle." Logan's claws came out, glinting in the moonlight. The scream he had heard could have been otherworldly. But that wasn't the scope of things. There was something wrong about the entire smell of the place.

There was something evil here.

Not just here. It was all around. He didn't know what it was that made the insects suddenly stop humming or the birds to act frightened as they did, but it wasn't Doolittle. Animals seemed to be more active when she was around.

It was like calm before a storm. 

*^^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

It was so heavy.

I couldn't even lift the neck, which was laying across my left shoulder and chest. My legs were trapped under its body, which felt like it weighed well over a ton. In fact, I think it may be cutting off the circulation.

This is what happens when a person can't put on muscle. Something just ups and falls on them. 

If I looked up a bit, I could see the face of the beast. It's eyes were closed, and I couldn't tell if it was breathing. 

Speaking of breathing, it was getting difficult for me to breath. There was too much weight on my chest. I tried pushing it again, and I got the scaled neck to move, but my strength gave out and the neck shifted back into it's original spot, knocking some of the air out of me.

This would be a really embarrassing way to die. Yeah, Danny ran out into the jungle to see some angry beast and died when the beast fell on her and suffocated her. Don't people call that irony? Maybe that was just stupidity.

No, I'm not going to die this way. 

I tried to breath as I concentrated. Air was in short supply, and I was getting a headache from lack of it.  If it was dead, which it could very well be, I couldn't feel the heartbeat, then giving it a little life boost just to get off of me would work. If it wasn't, well, it was threatening to kill me just because it was suffocating me. Hopefully whatever safety mechanism my mind uses to rein in the Power would factor that in and I could hurt it enough to get it off me. 

I felt the Power react within me and pressed my hands on the easiest accessible part of the monster, in this case the neck. My head was swimming. It was taking a lot to get my mind together, and it took time. I had to get it off now, or they would be sending flowers to my funeral. 

I closed my eyes as pangs of pain started arching through my hands as I pumped the creature a full dose of the power.

It didn't work. It didn't move. Panic rose up in my throat and a struggled to keep it bottled up as I tried to pull my hands away and think of something else.

My hands didn't move. I started in surprise at this, thinking my brain wasn't reacting or I was too tired. 

I couldn't let go. And it hurt.

A strangled sob tore out of my throat before I could stop it. I was pulling with all my remaining strength, but my hands didn't leave the neck. And the pangs of pain that had started when I used the Power were coming back in full force, this time searing like fire. 

It was pulling the Power right out of me. 

*^^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^^*^*

"What's with those butterflies?" Rahne whispered, staring in wonder at the masses of blue butterflies.

"They're pretty." Kitty whispered back, awed. 

Hank McCoy looked out at the butterflies troubled. "They seem to be greatly agitated. I wonder what's going on?"

"Danny would know. I bet she'd walk right up to them and ask them."

"Miss Sinclair, Danny may be the reason for it." Hank mused. "In any case, we should keep our eyes open. Something tells me something wicked is inhabiting this jungle."

"How do you figure?" Kitty said, still mesmerized by the erratically flying butterflies.

"It's a feeling." Hank gazed into the dark jungle around them. Kitty suddenly shuddered.

"Did you guys feel that?"

"What?" Rahne looked at her curiously.

"I swear, there is like, some seriously bad karma floating around here. The temperature just fell."

"Yeah, it is kinda cold…are you supposed to see your breath in a rainforest?" the young Scottish girl's breath was freezing in the air.

"Hey, where'd the butterflies go?" Kitty pointed at the clearing they had been watching the butterflies fly. The clearing was now so empty that it seemed the air itself had swallowed the beautiful insects. 

"Spirits." Rahne whispered.

"Ghosts aren't real." Kitty scoffed, even though she felt an awful feeling knot into her stomach. Hank sniffed the air. There was something very wrong, as if life had stopped.

A low piercing scream rang out in the darkness, followed by another and another. Soon an entire host of these dirge calls sent up. 

"Mr. McCoy, I wanna go home." 

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Agonizing. 

It hurt so badly. It was like life was being sucked right out of my body. Is this what happens when Rogue touches people?

My hands were bleeding badly, but I still couldn't let go. I don't know whether the cuts were caused by the scales or by the Power being yanked out of my skin, but at the moment I didn't care. All I knew was that it hurt and I was still suffocating.

"Get off…please…wake up…." I coughed and wheezed. No answer came from the creature. It could have been dead for all I knew. 

It is said life flashes before a person's eyes when they are about to die. I expected that to happen anytime now.

My mind was fuzzy with pain and lack of air. Sometimes a dry sob would hit my body, coupled with panic and fear. 

I may never get to see my family or Julian again.

I am too young for this sort of thing. Teenagers are supposed to be whining about being grounded, or checking out boys. Not be stuck underneath a monster and slowly dying.

I mentally registered that I could move my fingers. I looked up hazily and was amazed when I could pull my hands from the creatures neck. I looked at one of them and almost fainted quickly averting my eyes and hiding my bloody palms against my chest. I swore I could see the white of a bone. It looked as if the skin had been opened from the inside and then the wounds had been torn.

I cried. I sobbed, even though I'm a little ashamed to admit it. I was scared, helpless. 

There were always calls I could have made to animals, but there was no point and purpose to it. I knew when I stepped into this place that it was bad. I should have went with my instincts. And the birds avoided flying over this place. I should have taken that into account. I should have left it well enough alone.

The weight on my chest suddenly deepened and I cried out. The movement stopped, but my air supply was remarkably shallower. Then the weight lifted off my chest and I dimly registered that the monster was moving off of me. I took in air and coughed, and I looked at the creature. 

Was  that…concern?

I felt everything swirl into an indecipherable mess, then everything went black.

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"Jean!" Scott fired an optic blast at the creature that had snagged his girlfriend's hair, only to hit nothing when both of them disappeared. "JEAN!"

"Down, Cyke!" Logan grabbed him roughly and threw him to the ground as two more of the strange creatures jumped overhead, intending to catch him off guard. They got more than they bargained for when Logan entered into the mix however, and soon both were fleeing from the razor sharp adamantium claws. 

It had been an ambush. Ororo and Logan's group, consisting of Sam, Ray, Jean, himself, Jubilee, and Rogue, had been sticking close together at the order of Logan, because 'somethin didn't smell right'. They came to this clearing, and in that clearing was a swirling bunch of blue butterflies. Then the little creatures appeared. At first he thought it was a group of wild dogs, the way they seemed to move in a pack. Then he realized that they were small beings, only three feet tall, but incredibly dangerous. They all wore robes and hoods, which obscured everything but glowing purple eyes. The only other feature he could see were three clawed hands, which looked flimsy and breakable. But that hadn't proved the case when one grabbed Sam and threw him across the clearing into a tree, knocking him senseless. Another grabbed him and they both disappeared. Then the entire pack attacked, taking prisoners in the form of incapacitated mutants.

Now there was only himself, Logan, Ororo, and Jubilee left. Jubilee was throwing fireworks everywhich way, which was remarkably effective. The little creatures were none too happy about having shining dots in their faces. They made this painfully obvious when one raked it's claws across Jubilee's arm, causing her to scream in pain.

Ororo immediately sent bolts of lightning crashing down onto the beasts that were surrounding Jubilee. They hissed balefully and scampered away.

"You are no match for this Weather Witch!" She sent more bolts after the retreating creatures.

"'Ro! Above! Look out!" 

Scott watched helplessly as a creature hit Ororo hard in the back, knocking her senseless. Logan charged forward, but howled in frustration when both disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Jubilee, not being watched, was dragged down by three of the creatures and was dragged away into the forest, screaming. That scream cut abruptly short when those creatures disappeared, taking her with them.

Why? Why was this happening? What were these things?

Something gripped his arm suddenly. He looked down, shocked to see purple glowing eyes. His hand shot up to his visor, ready to blow a hole in this creature, but it was caught by another hand. Another of the little monsters had taken advantage of his distracted mind and sidled up beside him.

"Logan!" Wolverine turned around fast to see his predicament. Immediately he came to help, claws raised.

"Sssorry, you aren't invited beassst." One of the little creatures chortled at Logan. Scott felt something land on his back and felt a dull pain in the back of his head, and everything turned black.

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He hadn't meant for this to happen. 

He gently pushed her shoulder with his nose. She didn't move. Unconscious.  He hadn't meant to hurt anyone. Of course, he hadn't meant to be ambushed while traversing between worlds, but this was too much.  

He was just a ferry creature. A servant of his master. It had just been a routine flight, pick up a few herbs for the master.  An incredibly boring errand, but he had been thankful, it would be the first time he stretched his wings in weeks. 

He had been taking his time, enjoying the flight into a pseudo limbo, covered with bright colors, always changing shape. It was one of his favorite places to fly.

Then they had come. There had been so many of them, they swarmed across his body, holding onto his back and wings with their little sharp claws. He bucked them off and rushed away, hoping to leave that between world and jumping into the old temples of the ancient. It was the easiest way to leave that limbo. But they had followed, purple eyes glowing. He didn't even know how they got into that limbo, or why they were there. He had heard of them, yes, in passing conversation. But as far as he heard, they stayed in dark places, far away from prying eyes. 

And then they had cornered him, trapping him half in, half out of a sacred gateway. Then everything became blurred as he tried to attack them and get through the gate at the same time. He had slipped in and out of Limbo then, trying to get loose of the mystical gate and into safety. It had lasted forever, it seemed. He lost his temper. Then one of the creatures slashed him across the chest with a weapon it had concealed in it's robes. The pain had been absolute. 

Then, a few short moments later, his feet were firmly in an ancient temple. He had been shocked and confused, and when he realized there was another there in the building with him, he'd almost had enough. No, he had enough. Every though of killing had crossed his mind and he even went so far as to show his claws.

But it had only been a girl. This girl. And then he blacked out.  When he came back too, he realized that he mistakenly fell on the girl. 

Now she was unconscious. There was nothing he could do for her here. And he couldn't very well leave her, she could die. 

He would have to take her back. Surely the master would understand. The master wouldn't let her die.

He stepped forward and gathered her up, taking special care not to prick her with his long claws. It was hard enough doing that, as he was a four legged creature. He managed to get her gathered up next to his scaled chest, however and noticed with much guilt that her hands were bleeding. He knew he was the cause.

 Settling back on his haunches and opening his wings halfway to catch his balance, he adjusted the way he held her until he could carry her with one paw, leaning her against his body as he moved. Settling back down on three paws, he gave a slow gallop towards the entrance, and took flight. His chest hurt badly when he beat his wings, a detail lost to him when he worried about the girl he had inadvertently injured. 

He whispered something quietly to the wind, and a shimmer appeared in the air before him. He flew straight into it.

Suddenly light colors swirled into his vision. Blues, greens, grays, colors that had no names, and many that did inhabited this strange between world.

But that was not what caught his attention this time. It was the line of them.

Demights. The same ones that attacked him. Now they were carrying with them humans.

Fury consumed him again. That's what they wanted. For him to find a gate they could use! But surely it had tgo be more than that. Even if they got through the gate, there was nop garauntee they could get abck. In any case, they wouldn't get far with their prizes. 

Keeping a firm grip on the girl, he swept down fast, using his wings to knock down a few of them  and scattering the rest. They hissed at him, threw things at him. But he dodged most of it and circled upwards taking in a deep breath.

The little ones had an inkling of what was going to happen and screeched in panic and dove for cover, of which there was none. 

Concentrated electricity burst from his mouth and hit many of the little ones that had been straggling from the main group. Immediately a collective scream came up from the creatures, and a group of them disappeared, right before his eyes.

There was more to this than met his eyes.

He took in another breath, but another group of the creatures vanished, then another and another. By the time he could hit them again, all but one group had left. He let loose a torrent of pure gold electricity on them, shocking the unlucky few who remained. But they too vanished.

Snorting furiously, he checked the ground, which was a pastel yellow. If any of the little creatures were here, they would have shown themselves. He checked down at the girl. She was still there, unawake. She needed some help. So did he. 

He wheeled back around and made a direct route to home.

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A/N

Man, I say it's gonna be humor and I come up with something as serious as this? I promise to bring back the humor next chapter. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Asteria: Weird. Thanks a lot! I always want to hold back on my descriptions, because I don't want to bore people, but I'm glad you liked it!

Raliena: Does this chapter answer some of your questions? I hope it does! More will be revealed next chapter.

Drunk on Tang: Thank you, I love making lines that people like, and Herman says hi.

CrypticIdentity: Heh, well, I can't tell you much right now, it would ruin my fun. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it! (and yes, I do remember you, glad to see you reviewing again!) 

Arin Ross/Arain Rowan/Anee: Herman says thank you for the butterfly. And I hope you like the amount of creature feature in this chapter. I tried to update soon as I could, but this chapter was long in the writing.

Dragonet: NOOOOO! My poor bat! Oh well. He can just fly away or something, which he appears to have done since he's taking reviews again. Yeah, it would be bad if she died. Thankfully, it appears she hasn't.

Laureate: Thanks! I'm glad I've gotten out of a rut I seem to have dropped myself into. I've been having trouble with the AU Danny. I think her story may be placed on hiatus until I figure out something to do with the plot.  As far as the creature, can't tell you just yet. I want to have fun with this, so I'm going to be stubborn and not let any ideas slip out. Thanks for the cookies and the great comments!

Rogue77: I know, cliffhangers are evil. But I hope you like this chapter! It's extra long for reading convenience!

Anon(girl): Ah, see? I updated them both on the same day. Hope you enjoyed it!

Ravyn Nyte: You know, I had no idea what that was until I looked it up? Learn something new everyday. Glad to hear you'll be back soon! (I love that song!)

Herman will take the reviews! He'll also take any moths you have, he's hungry.


	5. Awakening: A World Not Her Own

A/N

I'm sorry, I know I haven't updated in what? Three days? However, I do have an excuse! Or rather several!

Monday: Eye appointment! (vision is getting blurry again-now I get nice new glasses!)

Tuesday: Wizard of Oz Practice! (I'm in the pit! I get to play 'If I only had a Brain' the Scarecrow's song!)

Wednesday: Chores! (Housework is a little bit of a drag, no?)

Thursday: Concert! (I wrote most of this chapter yesterday, then I made the final changes today.)

Anyway, Friday is free, I have to update my LXG fic, and then I'll apply myself to The Camping Effect. Sorry for the delay in updates, I try to keep up. I hope you all like the chapter!

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I shot straight up in bed, gasping. The dream I had was vivid, or at least I think it was, it was fading away so fast I couldn't remember what I had dreamed of.  My eyes were fuzzy at first, and the fuzzy portions of my vision slowly blurred back into recognizable shapes.

What was this? It wasn't the Institute, nor was it my room. It was lavishly furnished, with lots of bright colors. It reminded me immediately of a villa of some sort. Woven rugs hung from the walls, which was a bit confusing. I didn't dwell on it, though, and let my eyes wander a bit more. 

A wood desk, ornate and very pretty, stood close to the bed I was on. Here was no windows, but there was a door far across the room. It was a very large room. I was impressed.

I was also very thirsty.

I put a hand on the bed to steady myself so I could get up.

"Oww!" I snatched my hand back up, accidentally unbalancing myself. I took a headfirst tumble off of the bed and landed on the floor hard.

"Oww…" I sat up. Second time in two days that I've fallen on my butt. Or was it two days? A thirsty as I was, it could have easily been ten.

"I see you're awake." A heavily accented voice yanked me out of my thoughts. My head shot around to look at the door.

A woman in a black dress stared back at me. She was obviously of some Native descent, though I couldn't place it off hand. She was tall, regal even, but something about her made me a little on the nervous side. Maybe it was her eyes. Her eyes were a very dark color, almost black. She looked very young. If I went just by physical looks, I would have said she couldn't be older than twenty-five.

But something told me she was much older. Maybe it was the way she stood, or the look behind the eyes. But she had to be older than what she looked.

"Who are you?"

"You may call me Esperanza, that is what I call myself now. Now, before you get under impression that you may ask questions, you should know I am Master of household, you answer my questions first."

Esperanza had a very imperious air about her. I got the basic idea that I was supposed to be intimidated. And really, I was.

"Who are you?" She asked. 

"I'm Danny."

"Dani?" Her heavily accented voice pronounced it oddly, but it was still understandable.

"Close enough."

"Do not be so flippant with me. I could have you killed, it is well within my right."

"What?!" I gaped at her. 

"You have delayed a very important ceremony. Now I must wait another thirteen days for the stars to align in such a way that the herbs may be collected! You delayed my servant. Not only that, but you have also injured my servant!"

"What? Me?! He fell on me! I didn't do anything!"

"You blame my servant?! Was it not you who attempted to harm him with magic?"

"Magic? You expect me to know magic? I don't even know how to do magic card tricks!"

"Then how do you explain the strain placed on the magical absorption enchantment?"

"The what-a-what?"

"Indeed, it was a great amount of power for such an insignificant and unruly child, but it came from you!"

Those words really stung.

"The bandages about your hands are proof of this." 

I looked down at my hands. They were very bandaged. And obviously not healed, some dark red was staining the white.

"Magic…NO! That wasn't magic! That was my mutation!"

"A mutation? What is this?" She looked at me curiously.

"It's…uh…kinda hard to explain." 

"Lies." She said decisively. I gaped at her again.

"You're gonna write me off like that?!"

"And how should I 'write' you? The enchantment you damaged beyond repair. The beast is useless now. And I have but your word to go on. His word is much too soft. So, who should I believe, a child that has every inclination to lie and a beast who cannot leave his own compassion behind?"

"Compassion isn't such a bad thing. He can talk? Why would I lie?!"

"Why would you not?"

"Because…Okay, you got me there. If being threatened by a woman I don't really know would give me a good reason to lie, I suppose it would be in my mental list of options."

"So you admit it!"

"No I-" I left off. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't in the mood to listen to me. Whatever the errand was that I messed up must have been really important to her to put her in such a foul mood. "-fine. Think whatever you want, lady."

"I shall. And what must I do with you? A servant? Food for the Chupakabra?"

"You drive a hard bargain. Why don't you just send me home? "

"I don't have time to waste with little children who do not know their place in life."

"Fine, let me go, and I'll find my own way home."

She laughed. It was a beautiful, rich sound. I stared at her. I didn't know what caused this interesting change, but I was feeling a little guarded now.

"How will you do this? You are far, far away from home now, little child."

"I'll manage." I said stubbornly.

She looked at me for a long while. I think she was searching my eyes, which gave me a really creepy feeling. I kept my eyes locked with hers, not willing to lose the battle of stares. Then she smiled.

"I know that look. I have seen that look before. Very well. You may try to find your own way home, but do not expect help from my house." She turned to the passage behind the door. "You may rest for now, but come the next morning you will leave my House."

And she left. I stared after her. This had to be the oddest conversation I have ever had.

*^^*^*^*^*^*^**^^**^*^*^^*^*

Logan ran the entire way back to camp. He had been chasing after scents for days, and all of them ended in the same-the smell of fight, and the disappearance of the scents. He needed to get back to Xavier, to tell him what happened. Maybe they could use Cerebro to find them

They had to use Cerebro. It had to work.

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"What? No food?"

"You had food earlier. And drink. Now go."

"I'm going, I'm going." I rolled my eyes and started walking. I was still wearing my shorts and shirt from a night about five days ago, and didn't have any shoes on. That was okay, because I didn't mind walking barefoot.

"Watch yourself child. There are more dangerous things in this world than there ever was in your own."

I nodded and waved to her cheerfully, which seemed to perplex her. Oh well.

This world. So that beast must have been trying to move between worlds. Took me back to this one. So what now? It couldn't be easy to slip between worlds. I'd just have to figure something out, I guess. 

The road was dirt ridden and dusty. It reminded me of home. I kept walking on, following my feet. The background noise here was different only because it was new. The same basic feeling I got around animals back home, where ever home was, was here as well, except it was a different pitch. Not unpleasant. Just new.

^**^^*^**^*^*^^*^*^**^

He snuffled warily. The stalls around him were full of Chupacabra, the strange, kangaroo like beasts that sucked the blood of livestock, with wings and spikes riddling their backs. They were voracious eaters, and he did not relish being stalled next to him, especially not now, with the special enchantment being damaged. That enchantment made him almost unstoppable as he rushed through worlds. Physical attacks could harm him, but magic was sucked into his own body, replenishing his own life force. But the girl, Master Esperanza had said that her magic had all but destroyed the enchantment, and had not healed him. Now his chest was swathed in bandages, and he was severely out of favor with his master.

She had threatened to feed him to the Chupacabra. That was the price for failing the Master.

His ears pricked at a noise.

She came whisking about the corner then, as beautiful as always. She regarded him a moment, then smiled.

"Two lame creatures should keep themselves company in their fruitless exploits. Go, follow that girl." She opened the door to his stall and pointed to the exit. "I have no need for a creature that shall not follow orders. And with the enchantment destroyed, you are useless as a courier or a ferry beast. Now leave my house and never return. It is only by my good grace I allow you life."

He bowed, uncertainly, and swiftly walked out the door. From the grounds he lifted his wings, beat them down in slow rhythm. To be exiled from a Master is a horrific thought, and he was loathe to leave the place he had lived in for over fifty years. But she had exiled him. Thrown him in with the same lot as a girl from another world. That in itself was painful to think about. Those exiled with those of other worlds were considered low creatures. But this was his life now, his drawn lot. He would have to accept that.

And find the girl.

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A/n 

Hmm, Not as good as I liked, but to do the things I want this chapter has to be like this. Oh well. I tried to make it as interesting as possible.

Asteria: My goodness…Heheh, I admit, that was my own fault, I forgot to spell check. Usually I catch things like that, and I did, but it slipped my mind when I made the final cut.  Oh well. All of us make mistakes, yes? Thank you for the compliment!

Chrissy: Not…exactly. More on that later. I have a very special idea for that beast, one of my better and slightly confusing ones. I think you may like it when I finally get around to it.  Thank you very much! 

Anon(girl): Heh, thank you. Arcane? The definition of arcane is basically 'secret'.  I usually heard it in context of like 'the evil arcane spirits' so I figure, if arcane is 'secret' then it would be hard to unravel, and so the 'arcane identity' thought was born.

Laureate: I hope this day isn't as bad! Thank you, I really like the creature myself. Sorry for keeping you in suspense!

Raliena: He does indeed! He thanks you. Kill Danny? I'd never dream of it, I like her too much. 

Anee/Arain Rowan/Arin Ross: Thank you very much! I see Anee likes my story, I'm glad she does, as for Arain…you may get your wish, not everything about magic is fairies and love potions. 

Dragonet: Not a lot happened here, but I hope to get into some action bits in the weekend. I'm glad you like it, I think I did a better job on that horror chapter than my horror story, in a way. 

Herman shall take the reviews again! He has a very nice stash of baked bug goods now. 


	6. The Animal Empath's new clothes and Ente...

A/N

Sorry about the lag in updates, for the last few days I couldn't login, but I'm back in action and this chapter is one of the longest I've written!

**crepuscule**: twilight

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I really stunk.

Badly. I don't know how long I've been without a bath, but it was unacceptable. So that's why I was enjoying a dip in this nice, clean river. Safe river. Or it was after I asked the big frog like creatures not to bite me while I was bathing.  Another none-to-subtle-hint that I wasn't in my world anymore. Luckily, some charming catch phrases and some outright flattery managed to get me a tooth free bath. And they had some nasty big teeth. Of course, the fact that they had never seen a human that could speak their own language played greatly to my advantage. They thought I was fascinating. 

I left my clothes hung over a branch after I took them into the river with me. I figured if I was going to take a bath I might as well clean them while I was at it. The jungle I was in had cropped up out of practically nowhere. I had just been walking along and I almost ran, literally, into a tree. It was almost a very painful experience. It was extremely strange, I hadn't seen it when I was walking along, though I had noticed a sudden increase in background noise. That's usually an indictor of large groups of animals.  All I could think of was that it might have been hidden from normal view, I know the Professor can make people not see things, so this may be something like that.

A hidden jungle. Who knew?

 I asked the frogs to keep an eye out for other people for me. They told me they would tell me if any two legger or anything odd showed up. 

Makes me wonder what exactly is considered 'odd' around here. 

I was in above my shoulders, trying to comb out my hair without a brush. Very hard. I have no idea how so much dust got trapped in my hair, but it needed out now. I like clean hair. It may be an obsession. I know…some time ago…I was obsessed with long hair and clean hair. Clean hair stayed, I guess. 

The dirt and dust washed off easily enough,  but the bandages around my hands were getting soggy. I didn't want to take them off. I was afraid of what I'd see. 

A thought struck me. What about the Power? Had it been totally sucked into that beast? Was that possible? If it had been totally sucked away, it meant that I could die, but I didn't feel any different really, except for this glaring pain in my hands. 

I held out my hand and willed the Power to come. I tried to concentrate the energy to my palm. I should feel it, even though the bandages covered the palm.

I didn't feel anything. No sluggish movement accelerating into fast mist. No prickly pain. Nothing.

The leaves on the side of the river I had come from suddenly shook. I ducked down in the water and sliding through the trees came the big dragon monster that I think brought me here.

Our eyes met for a moment. 

Then the color on its facial scales turned a purple color and it pulled a fast turn and bolted away. 

I blinked. That was a bit unexpected. 

Probably enough time taking a bath. I should probably get out of the water. I turned to look at the branch where my clothes were.

A little green person was poking my clothes. I stared. This was getting more and more bizarre. 

Actually he wasn't really little. About four feet tall, with a green monkey tail, hairless though. He had green hair ornamented by beads and feathers. I assume it was a he; he wasn't wearing anything but a loincloth, which, thankfully, covered everything.

"What are you doing to my clothes?" I asked him. He jerked guiltily. He had big blue orbs for eyes. They were actually very pretty, I bet he could pull off the puppy dog look like a pro.

"Very nice clothes." He chirped. His voice was a little bit on the musical side. He hopped forward a little bit, and I noticed on his chest there was an odd painting. It looked like some sort of mouse. 

"If you say so. Hey, I kind of need them, can you, uh, hand them over here?" 

He may have been short and green, but there was no way I was going to come out of the water in front of him without some clothes.

"Sell Lenlen clothes!" he chirped.

"Hunh?"

"Lenlen give you things for clothes."

"Uh…they aren't for sale."

He pouted at me. Then he suddenly brightened. " Lenlen get you Lenlen tribe clothes! You like? Beads too! Make girl pretty! Good luck!"

"Tempting, but I really don't think you have any in my size."

"You see! Lenlen bring you lots of pretty clothes, you stay there!" He tore off into the jungle. I've never seen anyone move that fast, except maybe Pietro. Come to think of it, I don't really know Pietro that well. Oh well. And what was the deal with my clothes? I hardly believe a t-shirt and some old shorts are something to get hyped about. 

I was about to make a move again towards my clothes when Lenlen suddenly dropped from a tree above with a couple of friends. They were all guys, and they started poking my clothe, making oohing and ahhing sounds. I glared at them. I wanted to get out of this river sometime. 

"Hee, they taking your clothes, not give any back!"

My head jerked up. There was a female of the species, or at least, I assumed, because she was wearing clothing on her upper body as oppose to al the males. She was sitting on a branch. 

"Guess Veryan help you get clothes. We make clothes for big people sometime, can make some for you in a snap! Just need measurement."

"Measurements?" I deadpanned, staring at her. "What kind of measurements?"

"Measurements for waist, for thigh, for bust and stomach!"

"I…see. And when will you take these measurements?"

"Now!"

"Uh…no. See…" I let my sentence die off as I looked at the men poking my clothes. 

"Ohhh….shy girl! Okay!" She plucked a small side brush and threw it at one of them, causing them to look at her.

"You go! Measurements! No peeking!"

"They peek?!" I yelped.

_*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^_

Several hours later, I was being amazed at Squinky ingenuity. 

The Squinky are an adorably cute, sweet, cunning, and intelligent bunch of people. The mix doesn't quite add up, but it makes them shrewd business people. Apparently, they like to get new designs for their clothing, and mine was just enough to pique their interest. 

Figures I would be happened upon by jungle fashion designers. 

But that wasn't what they were also into. They had warriors that patrolled and protected the perimeter of the forest, which I learned was enchanted to be invisible until you passed a certain point. 

Nifty.

There were also healers, that used magic to heal wounds, and mapmakers for lost people, and an entire community of merchants and people living in tree houses and stone villages. It was incredible. 

But back to ingenuity.

The clothes were not as covering as I thought it should be. Part of me was clinging to the belief that these clothes were just strips of cloth aspiring to be clothes. 

I had managed to get them to incorporate some of my original clothes into these. 

The shorts were…short. Very short. They were made out of soft leather. But the point was that they cut off at a very high point on my thigh. There were barely any legs to these shorts. My stomach was showing, and the shirt I had been given was more like a vest with little short sleeves. If they could be called sleeves.  The vest did go all the way down to the shorts, but there was a large upside down V cut out of the middle, exposing all of my stomach. Thankfully, above that was covered, except the neck dipped into another V in the collar, though not as pronounced as the one before. It was still a little low though, and I was a bit uncomfortable with it. The Squinky designers, however, seemed to think it was a masterpiece.

"Model perfect! Clothes perfect!"

"Need something."

"No it doesn't! Perfect!" The first one argued back to he second designer. Both of them were female.

"Need something for hair!" The other exclaimed.

"Hmm…" Both of them looked at me. I stared back at them. I felt my face grow a little hot. 

"Beads! Feathers! Squinky fashion look perfect on her."

"Sash!" The first one announced suddenly. "Need sash. What you think? Red?"

"Maybe some bags? Little pouches? For atrevida Squinky?"

"Perfect!"

"Brilliant!" The second one roared, and they sped off. 

Is this what a model feels like? Are all designers like that?

I barely linked, and they were back, comparing beads to my skin and hair. They finally decided on a couple strings of rainbow colored beads for my hair. They had me sit down and brushed my hair out with a comb made of some sort of wood. It was actually very well made, and pulled my hair very little. When they were done, my hair was nice and shiny with three long strings of beads hanging from the left side of my hair. They jingled. 

A large beaded bracelet for my right wrist with a sun charm, and a small anklet with a small moon surrounded by beads. Wrapped around my waist was a green sash. The ends, even though it was knotted securely, hung down to almost my calf.

I would have to do something about that, or I was going to get tangled in them and kill myself.   
"Perfect!"

"Brilliant!"

"Uh…great. How much do I owe you guys?"

"Nothing! You have given us fantastic ideas!"

"That's good…I don't have anything to give anyway." It was true.

"Esperanza's beast is here! He walking into village!" A Squinky yelled from above.

"Esperanza?" I looked around. I had only met the woman once, but she was the only person I knew.

What I saw was the same monster that turned purple in the face and ran away. I stared at him. He caught sight of me, and began walking over. 

His gait was strangely graceful, for the legs he had. I've never seen the way hooves and claws mix, but apparently they work together pretty well.

I felt a little nervous. This was the beast that fell on me and almost killed me, and injured my hands. Which, by the way, the Squinky healers did not want to touch. They said putting magic on magical wounds of unknown origin could be detrimental to my health. 

He stopped three feet from me, and bowed his head humbly.

"My most sincerest apologies, lady, for happening upon you while you were bathing, I did not mean to affront the lady."

I stared at him. His accent was something I couldn't place, but it sure wasn't South American. I replied, intelligently, "Hunh?"

"The Lady Esperanza has decreed that I should travel with you."

There were low mutters in the Squinky ranks. I glanced over my shoulder at them, but the sea of faces had become unreadable. I looked back at the big creature. He said nothing, but waited anxiously for me to answer.

"Uh…that's great. She must like me or…something." I commented hesitantly. Then I realized something. "You turned purple because you were blushing!"

"Uh…Ah…Erm, yes, like I said, I apologize for that."

"You turn purple? Most people get red in the face…"

"My lady, not that I am seeking to be rude, but are you not more concerned with the fact that I accidentally burst in while you were bathing rather than what color I changed while doing so?" He looked very confused. 

I thought about that for a moment. My eyes narrowed. "Did you see anything?" 

He looked horrified.  "Never! I am a complete gentleman!"

"Alright." I shrugged. I had been in the water well over my shoulders anyway, and it wasn't as if the water had been crystal clear.

Now he looked even more confused. Sometimes I seem to have that effect on people. I try not to though. But I can't help it. 

"My name's Danny." I thought better of holding a hand out for a handshake. He might take it the wrong way.

"I am Crepuscule."

"That's a name that just rolls off my tongue." That comment rolled off my tongue before I could stop it. 

He was silent.  I felt a little uncomfortable. 

"Danny model leaving soon?" A Squinky designer piped up.

"Yeah, I kinda need to find a way home."

"Wait! We give water, you need water for trip!"

"And food!"

They all ran off to go get me supplies. I rose an eyebrow at them. It wasn't everyday that people I didn't know started giving me stuff for free. I almost wanted to suspect a scam. But I don't think that was the case, maybe it was all paid for by the fashion designers. Not that I don't think they were more than capable of pulling off some complicated scams. 

Not two minutes passed before I was given a canteen filled with water and a small bag filled with fruit and jerky. I didn't ask what kind of animal they got it from. I was scared they would tell me it came from some giant slug. 

It could happen. 

_**^*^*^^*^**^^*^*^*^*^*_

The way I choose through the forest was reasonably easy, and Crepuscule was following me at an easy pace. His footsteps were silent. It was incredibly creepy, and I could feel my hair rise on my neck.

"So, uh, you wouldn't be intent on sending me back home, would ya? I mean, if you brought me here, you could take me back, right?"

"Yes, but at great risk."

"How so?"

"The planes between are riddled with magical traps and inhabited by beings with great power in the way of magic. The enchantment that protects me from them is now broken, and I will be defenseless should I attempt the journey."

"Oh…Sorry about that."

"The fault was mine. I apologize for falling upon you, I did not realize until I woke back up."

"Eh, no problem. I got over it, though I don't want you to do it again."

He seemed amused. " Yes, I suppose you wouldn't."

"So…what was the deal with all that? And with the bloody altar in the temple?"

"Bloody altar? I know not of this. However, as I was traveling, I was attacked by Demights, and they trapped me in between worlds."

"Why were they attacking you? What are Demights?"

"Demights are denizens of places of complete solitude, they do not like people. However, a large group attacked me so that they may use the gate I was utilizing in order to kidnap some humans from your world."

I stopped. There was a loud snort as Crepuscule stopped in order not to knock me over. 

"Humans? Who?"

"I know not. I only know that they must have been near where you were."

"My friends…" I whirled around and grabbed the ropes on his neck. "Where did they take them?"

"I am afraid I don't know that either." 

"Where can we find somebody who knows?!" I glared at him. 

He hesitated.

"There is…a town past the enchanted jungle and over the Quicksand Gauntlet. If anyone knows anything, it would be told there."

"What are we waiting for!?" I let go and started running off into the woods.

"My lady!"

"My name is Danny." I looked over my shoulder.

"Would it not be more intelligent to fly, thus covering more ground?"

"Yeah…it would be…are you okay with that?"

"Yes. I am supposed to be traveling with you, after all."

"Alright! Wait a minute, did you just mention intelligence? I'm going to have to break you of that habit later." I joked lightly. 

He looked confused at that comment.

But that confusion would probably clear up in time.

_*^^**^*^*^^*^*^*^**^**^*^^*_

A/N

Hmm….seems like some interesting things are happening here! I tried to get back to humor, I hope I succeeded. And I got back to the major plot, which I know you all are thankful for. It should be getting lots more interesting from here on out!

Asteria: Thank you! That's what I was going for, at least for right now. As far as Esperanza goes…I created her as an ambiguous personality on purpose, she's a very complicated lady. More about her will unfold as the story progresses. And more about Crepuscule. 

Laureate: Thank you, that was what I was aiming for, at least for now. More about the ferry critter will unfold over the story. I know what you mean, I really love the influences too. I'm glad you like him! 

Raliena: Raisins are fine, they're a wonderful substitute for juicy flies. I'm glad you like the chapter!

Arain Rowan/Anee/Arin Ross: I'm sorry to hear that you won't be able to review for awhile. I'll try to update a lot and then you'll get to read a good bit of chapters to read when you get back! 

Anon(girl): Thank you, you flatter me very much. I'll try to update Camping Effect soon!

CrypticIdentity: I made it Master on purpose, for my own amusement. And perhaps for something later on. As far as evil monarch…I shouldn't say anything, but to say she is just evil wouldn't be entirely true. I hope you liked this chapter! More about the beast will be revealed as the story moves.

Aicha: Ah…Heh, you make me all flustered, saying things like that! But thank you very much, I'm just glad I can write something that people enjoy as much as they do, if that made any sense at all. I'm glad you like the plot!

Herman is taking the reviews! Fruits and flies are the desired choice today!


	7. Quicksand Gauntlet

Magistrate: a civil officer, such as a judge.

Gauntlet: a severe trial; an ordeal. 

^**^^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^^**^*^*^^**^

"This is…unbearably cool." 

The wind was rushing through my hair as I leaned out to look over Crepuscule's shoulder. My sight was impeded every so often by his flapping wings, but that just added to the experience.

We had to be over a thousand feet above the landscape, soaring over the brown and green land that was studded with hills and brush. It was an incredible feeling, so exhilarating. 

I wonder if birds feel this way when they first begin to fly? Maybe I'll ask one day. 

Crepuscule's back was just right. It wasn't so narrow that I was clinging for dear life, and it wasn't too wide that my legs were uncomfortable. I had my hands twined into the ropes around his neck. That hurt a bit, and they would probably be bleeding again when we landed, but I wasn't complaining. This was the best way I've traveled in a long time. 

I squinted at something at the ground then leaned back towards his ears.

"What's down there?"

"The Quicksand Gauntlet!"

"That's the Quicksand Gauntlet?!"

Down below, the landscape had changed drastically into drifting sand and pits. Every so often, a spout of sand would splurge up out of nowhere, and stop as soon as it started. Crepuscule lowered a few hundred feet, moving with the wind, which seemed to be getting a little rough. It gave me a good view of large rivers of sand all moving one way.

"What are those? Rivers of quicksand?"

"Yes. Anything that dares walk a foot into them never comes out."

"Wow." I'm very glad that we happen to be flying. This would have been impossible to cross. 

The wind was getting agitated. It was a little gusty. I held on tighter to Crepuscule's ropes and hunkered down to take some of the bite of the sandy wind off. 

Scattered across the desert scene were shadowy patches of land, which turned out to be little caves when I looked closer.

"Do things live in those caves?"

"Yes."

"What kind of things?"

"Sand dragons. They look vicious, but they will only feast upon the carrion unfortunate enough to meet they're demise here."

"Oh." It's a good thing I have him, or I might be completely lost. 

Oh wait. Too late for that.

A good gust jarred us.

"You can fly us out of this, right?"

He didn't answer right away. I felt a little nervous. "Right?!"

"My skills in flying may be matched, but they are exemplary."

"You aren't answering my question." I pointed out. Something out of the corner of my eye caused me to turn and look.

"Uh…we…might want to go just a teensy bit faster."

"My lady, please, if I go any faster I may not be able to control my balance against the wind."

"Crepuscule."

"Yes, My Lady?"

"Look behind you." 

He snorted a little and curled his head back a little. Then he saw what I was seeing and snorted in panic and we really started to move.

Apparently the one thing he forgot to talk about in this place are the giant cyclones of sand that rip across it.  

He tucked his feet under him and stretched his tail and neck out. I ducked down farther, lying flat across his back and keeping my head level with his shoulder. He was trying to make his body streamlined so he could move faster. I've seen birds do it. 

And faster we went.

Suddenly we were rocketing across the sand so fast that piles of sand were being kicked up by our wake.  His glide suddenly hit an angle and it felt like a rollercoaster going through a side loop. We scooped out fast around several hills of sand, barely even clearing half of them. He was trying to move around the cyclone, to get behind it and out of danger. He cut it too close however, and he had to barrel roll to get out of the vacuum of wing gusts. I clung on as I felt the world spiral out of control, then jerk back into a sweep as he pulled left out of his roll and swung side to side, finally centering himself a few hundred feet ahead of the twisting wind tunnel. 

"Please tell me this is part of some great plan that will miraculously save our lives."

"I would My lady, but then I may be lying."

"You're supposed to lie! So I feel better!"

"Oh. In that case, everything is in control, we should be getting away any second."

"That doesn't make me feel better." I gritted as he made another breakneck turn and tore sideways, trying to move out of the cyclone's path. 

"My apologies." He really did sound apologetic. It was incredible.

Sand stung my bare legs as we twisted back and forth, trying to get enough speed to move out of the vacuum and enough momentum to carry us out of the path of the cyclone. 

"Hold on, my Lady. Our egress is made presently." He said suddenly.

"Egress? Is that a bird?"

My jaw cracked painfully down on his shoulder as the wind hit below us, shooting us straight into the air like, well, one of Kitty's muffins when they get left in the pan over a burner that's still on. 

That's pretty fast and far. We flew straight up, and the cyclone tore on underneath us, passing us totally by. And we were still going up. 

The land became small and the large cyclone that had threatened to snuff out our existences became a small swirling dot. 

Our ascent slowed dramatically, and we hung in the air for a moment, and then came the drop.

"Oh my…" The only reason I didn't scream on the way down is because I bit my lip suddenly at the sight of how high we were at the beginning of the fall and the pain distracted me. 

And the amazement that biting my lip would distract me from the fall of death, but that was something else entirely.

My heart leapt to my throat as we fell like a stone.         

I don't like to fall. Heights are fine…but falling is bad.

Suddenly Crepuscule pulled out of his rock-like descent and used his momentum to shoot across the sands. He was going so fast that the wind was pushing my hair straight back.  I few wing beats, and we were sailing across the sands, aiming for a patch of land much safer looking. Beyond it was scruffy looking mountains and what looked like some sort of glinting light in the distance.

We had made it past the Quicksand Gauntlet.

^**^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

It took almost fifteen minutes for me to get my fingers untangled from the ropes around Crepuscule's neck.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the fact that I got my fingers caught in the ropes, it was more the fact that my fingers needed all of my concentration to get them pried off.

I really don't like falling.

I massaged my hands.  They stung painfully and I was having trouble bending my fingers. Thankfully, they weren't bleeding.

I squinted and looked at the place that Crepuscule said we could get information at. I turned to look back at him.

"I thought you said this was a town! It's practically one of the biggest cities I've been in!"

"My lady is not in it. And this is considered a town because of the permanent population, not because of its size, my Lady."

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me Lady? My name is Danny. Say it!"

"Lady Danny."

"…Fine. Have it your way." I rolled my eyes.

The glint I had seen when we moved past the gauntlet was actually light reflecting off the side of metal walls in a gigantic city full of oddly colored spirals and towers, ringed with metal walls with roads paved with metal, which, luckily, was not hot. 

Very good for people like me, who were running around without shoes. The road must have been enchanted. The sun was high in the sky, so it should have at least felt a little warm, but it was as cool as a rock hidden by the shade. 

I was dusty and dirty, and probably looked horrible and strange, but I walked up right to the doors of the city with the big monster tailing me. I was about to knock tentatively at the door, but before I could they swung open.

"Did you tell them we were coming?" I whispered back to him. 

"The doors immediately open to visitors and strangers. It is the main source of wealth that people that live here gain."

"Oh." I walked in with a little more confidence. In reality, it was a little creepy, to be so trusting.

"We must be careful here. A many great disputes happen here everyday, and a great many criminals wander the side streets."

That made me feel so much better. "Don't they have any sort of police?"

"Police? You mean magistrate? Yes, but they cannot deal with all that happens. It is too much for them. And as long as it happens out of their sight…"

"So it's like all those really bad B movies with the corrupt cops."

"Beg pardon?" 

"Nothing. Just an obscure reference to back home."

"I…see." It was obvious he had no idea what I was talking about, but that was okay. 

Inside the city building towered high above us. I was surprised to see that there was no one in the streets.

And then they poured in.

Dozens of shapes and sizes, colors, and voices filled the street as people rushed to and fro. I saw women with antlers, men with spikes on their shoulders, small lizard-like beings, animal people, and beings that just defied description. They were everywhere.

And I felt very plain.

I walked past some Bug people clicking at some sort of trader, who looked like a sasquatch. Apparently they were arguing over the contents in a cart. I quickly went my way when I saw all the flies around it. Whatever it was, I didn't want to know. 

"I apologize, I am not for sale." I glanced behind me. Crepuscule was wading through a bunch of little lizard people only two feet high.  They were chittering at him and pointing at his legs and such. He got annoyed and snorted loudly, scattering them for a few seconds. But they came back and started again.

I walked back, waded through the little people and grabbed his ropes. "Sorry, he's spoken for, and I'm not selling him."

"Are you for sale?"

I stared at the little lizard that spoke. Then I started glaring.

"Absolutely not."

They got the idea and backed off. We resumed our leisurely walk down the street.

"You handled that quite well." Crepuscule commented. I didn't answer, I was still a little steamed about the little sales…lizards.

"So, where do we go from here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"We must find someone in the business of selling information."

"The stoolpigeons?"

"…Another obscure reference?"

"You catch on fast." 

^*^**^^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^^**^**^*^*^

"I'm telling you, it was a human that could fly!"

"Heinous!"

"Unbelievable!"

"Jackpot." I whispered conspiratorially to Crepuscule. We were standing under an overhang, on top of which some bird people were talking. They looked like some cross between hawks and humans, with creamy feathers covering their bodies and long wings on their backs. Their hands were tipped with menacing looking claws, but well manicured. Obviously they were upper class. So were their clothes, which made me wonder how they could fly with robes like that on.

It had been total, blind and random luck. The sun had been getting hotter, and we took a break in the shade of an overhang on a building. I had been to the point of nodding off when I heard some thumping above, and when I peeked out, I saw them. I was going to ask Crepuscule about them, when one of them told the other he had remarkable news, about a fire haired girl that could make the rocks move by gesturing at them and stop a bird in its tracks.  

It didn't take a genius to figure out the similarities in this equation.

"And where exactly did you see this…flying human." The bird person's voice was in contempt. I was waiting for the name of a place where we could go.

"In the Rushing Marshes, just past the Field of Silent Flowers and the Wolves' Forest."

"Past the Wolves' Forest?" There was a derisive snort. "Even if she could fly, there's no way she'd get past that."

I'd heard enough. I turned to Crepuscule. "Do you know about where they're talking about?"

"Yes, My Lady."

"Can you take me there?"

"As soon as you are ready."

"I'm ready now. Let's go!"

*^^*^*^*^**^**^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

A/N

Holy cow, it took me forever to update. But I'm tryin', I'm tryin'.  Expect updates to get even sparser until about Sunday. Then I'm free!

Anon(girl): Heh, thank you very much, I'm glad you thought it was cute. It took me forever to come up with a good name! At first I wasn't going to call him anything. I'll try to update the other stories as soon as I can!

Laureate: Yummy! I love those candies! Hmm…yeah, that's what I was trying to go for. I totally revamped from the original Squinky ideas, as they were first seen in Two Cents.  From ninjas to jungle people. Heh. I'm glad you like it!

Raliena: Oh my. Two pounds of cake shouldn't be good for anyone. Thank you very much!

CrypticIdentity: Thank you, I thought that was pretty funny myself, and I promise to keep writing, even though there be gaps in the updates. I like it too much to stop.

Chrissy: Heh, that orange was about as big as he was, it'll feed him for a week. Anyway, thank you very much!

Rogue77: I'd like to point out that your review rhymed. Whether or not you care I don't know, but I found it pretty interesting. Anyway, thank you very much!

Aicha: Haha, I don't mind that you play favorites. It just brings into light the fact that I've completed my goal of making characters that people can pick and choose as their favorites. If everyone just liked one character, then that would mean I spent far too much time with them rather than developing other ones. Oops, I appear to have rambled, sorry. I don't even know if what I typed makes sense.  Oh well. Anyway, I'm glad she's becoming one of your favorites, Arcane too. I'm glad you like it!

Arain Rowan/Anee/Arin Ross: Oh dear. I don't think I have any of that to give. If you want an easier name to refer to the ferry beast, call him Twilight. That's what his name means anyway.  Anyway, glad to see you back! It's not everyday that I have three reviewers in one review, or whatever you choose to represent yourselves as.  Anyway, I'm glad you like it, and I hope you like this chapter as well.

Herman shall take the reviews. Bat toys, anyone?


	8. Silent Flowers and Wolves' Forest

A/N

I'm back! I'm sorry about the long wait, so I wrote an extra long chapter for your benefit, hope you like it!

Spurn: to turn away

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"We must not go directly into the Field of Silent Flowers. All sound is muffled there, but that does not stop creatures from roaming it. It could be incredibly dangerous."

"Why isn't it called, like, the Silent Field or something?"

"That name was taken. Somewhere in the north I believe." Crepuscule flapped his wings a little, picking up a little lost altitude. The day was beautiful, or at least, what was soon to be left of it. The day had been full of fun. Enchanted forests, cities of metal, raging evil deserts.

I had to admit it. Even though I was in mortal danger some of the time, I was having a blast.

"The reason it is called the Field of Silent Flowers is because it is the flowers themselves that swallow all sound. The sound they swallow makes them one of the most beautiful, and deadly, wonders of the world."

"So we are passing them by." 

"Yes. We will skirt the edge of the field until we come upon the Wolves' Forest. From there we must walk."

"Why?"

"The treetops are disconcerting to those that fly, making them lost."

"Is everything enchanted around here?"

"The Field and the Forest are not enchanted in the way you use the term. The reason I cannot fly above the forest is because forests all look the same from above. And should I become disoriented and forget which way I am going, not that there is a great chance of that happening, I could delay your journey. The Field is not enchanted either. The flowers, an exotic breed, actually gain nutrients not only from the ground like normal flowers, but also from the vibrations that spring from the sounds made by animals. The vibrations cause the plant to produce a new kind of vibration which help it produce nutrients it would not be able to unless those vibrations were present.  The side effect of this new vibration is that it cancels out the sounds of the first vibration."

"Oh." I think I got all that. Makes sense in a way. 

Sort of.

"There is the Field." 

I looked over to the left as he flew. The grass had grown longer, and peppered amongst it were beautiful flowers of every shape and size. It made a dazzling spectacle.

"Wow. Hunh? Hey, if they swallow sound, why can I still hear myself?"

"We are at the very edge. The range of the flowers does not extend here. If we were to move inwards to the Field, then our voices would become muffled and eventually fade, as the flowers began to appear more in number."

"So this is like, a little tiny bit of the flowers?"

"Yes. This is the smallest fraction of the flowers. In the middle of the field the flowers are so numerous that grass does not show."

"Wow." I was struck with awe. So beautiful, yet so dangerous. This place was something else.

"We are almost to the forest."

I looked back to the front. There, almost a mile and a half ahead and rapidly approaching, was a very dark and forbidding looking forest. It was lively though. I could still hear animals in my head and they sounded pretty happy.

The last of the Field whipped past and Crepuscule landed easily and trotted into the forest. The sudden change of light was jarring as we left the beautiful day behind and walked into the forever night of the thick forest.

I stayed on his back as he walked forward, his graceful strides moving us along at a faster rate than I could have managed. It also would be better in the long run if something tried to jump us. I could warn him, and he could beat them up, as I was totally incapable of doing so. 

I was feeling a little useless. I was back to square one, just like when I first came to the Institute. No real offensive power. Of course, I'm thinner and tougher, but that doesn't help a lot. And my hands hurt. 

In some ways, this just hasn't been my week.

"My lady." Crepuscule stopped. I shook myself out of my daydream.

"What?"

"Look yonder."

"Yonder?"

"There, in the small clearing."

To my amazement, there was a small clearing. And in that clearing, a single beam of light pierced the treetops to fall upon a young girl in rich clothing.

I stared for a moment.

"I swear I've seen this movie before. Where's the big demon?"

"There is a demon?!" Crepuscule swung his neck around nervously.

"There isn't. At least, I hope not." I slid off his back and held onto the ropes until I got my legs in a position that I could catch myself when I dropped. Being six feet at the shoulder was great for him, but either I needed to grow taller or we needed a stool for me to get down.

"If My Lady asked, I would have bent down."

"Don't worry about it, I'm down." I brushed my hands off on my shorts, though gingerly. I walked over to the girl in the clearing. She was older than I was.

"Hi." I said, trying to start a conversation.

"My Lady…" Crepuscule bumped his nose into my elbow, "Do not assume her to be anything, there are many enchantments that hide true forms."

"Are you hinting, beast, that my form is not what it ought to be?" She said haughtily. I looked at her, surprised.

She was just like a story book fairytale. She had long, blonde hair that reached the middle of her back, with a peerless face. Some of the girls at the Institute would kill for that face.  No blemishes or pimples. Her eyes were green, and sparkling. Though, with happiness or hatred, I wasn't sure. Her clothes were everything a fairytale would describe, a long dress made of the finest cloth, with colors that accented her beauty. Deep red, beautiful green and sparkling white.

Creepy.

Crepuscule hid behind me, which was remarkable, for someone so big. "My apologies lady, I did not mean to offend."

"You should take better care to keep such beasts handled." She said to me. I glared back at her.

"He is not a beast. He is my friend."

"Technically, My Lady, I am a beast."

"Crepuscule, when I want you to be self destructive to my purposes, I will ask you. But when I'm trying to speak about you in a good way, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your defeatist comments to yourself." I snapped.

"A thousand apologies, My Lady." His head drooped almost to the ground. I instantly felt bad. 

"Aww, don't do that, I didn't mean it, really." I scratched his neck. "You make me feel like the most horrible person in the world."

"My apologies." His ears were drooping now, and I felt worse.

"Are you two done?" The girl rolled her eyes. I glared at her.

"What is your problem?"

"I am waiting for my fiancé to get through his trials and rescue me." She said primly.

"Trials?" 

"I don't feel like explaining such things to a common child as you."

I glared at her.  Crepuscule picked up his head and started talking into my ear.

"Some of the noble families will require that those that marry into the family to accomplish a quest, in a way to prove themselves worthy of joining. The quest may be as simple as fighting in a tournament, whether or not they lose, or going out to find some lost item. It can also be as hard as braving numerous deadly traps."

"Can I comment on how stupid that sounds?"

"You have, My Lady. Do they not have similar trials where you are from?"

"No…wait, one of my uncles had to be a bull roper before my aunt would look at him, and then he had to be accepted by the other aunts and uncles by getting a steady job."

"Would that be a simple or difficult trial?"

 "Simple to everyone but him. He was kind of a bum. I don't even remember his name."

"I see."

"So," I started talking to the girl now, " how long have you been waiting?"

She pursed her lips and didn't answer. Then she mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"Three days."

"Three whole days? You've been sitting here for three whole days?"

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Then she started to cry.

"What did I do to deserve this? I've always been good to my parents, then they try to saddle me with this weak, idiot merchant. A traveler is a great profession they said. Traveling peddlers, bah!"

I began to feel really uncomfortable. This was the second person I made feel bad in the last fifteen minutes, and it was beginning to have a depressing effect.

"And what now? He should have been here the first day, the way was not long, even if he had skirted the field, he had a horse or some beast he could ride. He could have asked some bird person for a lift! But he hasn't come and now I'll be trapped in this forest forever. That #$%@ Peddler!"

Whoa. That was never in the fairytales.

"I didn't want to marry him anyway." She dried her eyes and picked up her shoulders. "He wasn't my type, really. A stuffed shirt, even though he had no reason to be."

"Ah. Well, good riddance then?"

"Indeed." She smiled at me. I gave a small smile back. Crepuscule hid behind me. I think he was afraid that a woman with such violent words may take out her anger on something.

"And what is your purpose for being in this forest?"

"I'm going to find a friend of mine in the Rushing Marshes."

She nodded and looked away. I felt a wince growing at the edge of my face as I asked the next question.

"I don't suppose you want to come with us?" I asked, trying to keep my face from breaking into any emotion.

"No. I shall wait here. I, Laralla Rena Rematta Horun, shall wait here until a man truly worthy shows his face."

"Oh. Well, good luck."

 "Thank you." She said curtly. 

Crepuscule and I left and walked on down through the forest.

"Are most nobles like that?"

"I cannot say."

"Why?"

"Because I have met little nobles, and to make a generalization upon them with my limited experience would be rude."

"Ah." We walked in silence for a few minutes. For fun, I let my mind expand and touch briefly across the minds in the large forest.

What I heard was very interesting.

"Let's go this way." I started walking in the direction the voices were chattering about.

"My Lady, it is not wise to stray off the path!"

"We weren't really following one." I pointed out as I kept walking.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" He sounded a little panicked. "This is not wise."

"Following voices only you can hear usually isn't." I commented as I neared the spot where the commotion was coming from. I pulled some branches out of the way…

And Rahne hit me hard and we went tumbling to the ground.

Rahne?!

"Rahne!"

"Dann?" She stared back at me, confused.

"Wait, my love! Return to me!"

Rahne left stripes of red down my arms as she clawed her way up and over me only to stop dead at the sight of Crepuscule's big, very dangerous looking form.

"Ah---Ah---AHHHHHHHHHH!" Rahne just started screaming. Crepuscule reared in surprise and bolted.

As if this wasn't bad, a giant wolf bounded out of the trees. "My love! What hideous beast has caused you to scream aloud?"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Now she was screaming at him. I winced painfully. She could reach a pitch.

Rahne's suitor stood on his hind legs. That's when I realized that he was wearing clothes, a waistcoat and some tailored pants. And he could walk upright with absolutely no problem.  He was, in a way, quite handsome, with a dark ruff and dark fur, which when I first saw him seemed to blend in with his clothes. His tail had been combed to perfection.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!"

And Rahne was still screaming.

"My love, what has afflicted you so?"

"I think it's you buddy."

He turned to face me, surprised. "Who are you?"

"Danny."

"Oh. Pleased to meet you." He bowed and offered me a hand up. I took it. Rahne had stopped screaming as soon as he helped me up. As soon as I was on my feet she leaped behind me, making me her shield.

This seems to be happening more and more often. 

"What's going on?" I asked her. She looked at me widly.

"He willn't leave me alone!"

"I love you!"

"I don't!"

"Why must you say such things, love?"

"Make him stop!" She growled, digging her fingers into my shoulders. I winced.

"Geez, clip your nails!"

"Why do you spurn me? Is this not predestined? A human that can change into a wolf to marry a gentlewolf such as myself, it must be! It is tradition that love found in the forest of the Wolf is destined to live forever! It must therefore be destiny!"

"Your reasoning is creeping me out." I told him. He looked momentarily discouraged.

"I didn't even know what this forest was! And I can't help it that when I escaped that this was the closest place to go!"

"Escaped?" I looked over my shoulder. She nodded.

"I found myself being dragged around by this group of little hooded men, so I bit one of them, changed into a wolf and ran away. After a few days, I found these woods. They didn't follow me into here. Probably didn't want to be propositioned." She added the last bit with a little venom. I was a little surprised. Usually she was really nice. But I guess being chased around by an amorous wolf after being kidnapped must have made her temper grow short.

"I do not understand." The big wolf's ears flopped down sadly. He was a good foot taller than me, and he looked so pathetic that I began to feel bad again.

I must be on a roll today. 

"Maybe you found the wrong girl," I said soothingly. 

"All of my life, my parents and everyone told me that I would find true love in the Forest of the Wolf. That love would transcend every dream I had for my life. How can I find true love if every woman that enters is either taken, too young, too old, or runs screaming in fear of me? You," He looked right at Rahne, "were just like myself. But you are like the others as well. How may I find true love now?"

"Maybe you came on too strong?" I said. Rahne instantly began digging her fingers into my shoulders.

"Perhaps. But sometimes I am like that, I cannot help it!"

"I understand. Actually…" An idea struck me. "I know of someone that isn't too young or old."

He looked up hopefully. 

"It isn't me or her," I said quickly before he got the wrong idea. "She's a beautiful noble, with blonde hair and green eyes."

"Truly? Is she that beautiful?"

"You'll have to answer that one yourself. You could have asked my friend, but Rahne scared him away. However, she is heartbroken over the fact that her fiancé has not come to find her, so you might not want to come on too strong."

"Oh thank you! Perhaps true love is not too out of reach, this woman is afflicted with the same problem as I. Goodbye, wise girl and Once-love, I hope your journey brings you much joy."

He shot off into the bushes. I sighed with relief and Rahne unattached herself from my shoulders.

"What are you doin—ACK!" She squeaked as the wolf burst from the trees again.

"Which way is my love?"

"Umm, If you outskirt the right of the Silent Flower Field thing, you come across a clearing as soon as you walk into the forest with some light shining through."

"Thankyou!" He burst back through the trees.

"You know…" I said after a moment, "There are some really creepy coincidences here."

"What?"

"That woman I was talking about had this big long name, and the initials were really interesting."

"So?"

"And that was a wolf."

"Don't remind me."

"Has the young lady stopped screaming?"

"Yeah, you can come back out, Crepuscule."

He came out, hesitatating with every step. I was surprised. He ran off after Rahne started screaming? Then again, she scared me too. 

"Rahne, this is Crepuscule. He's my friend. Crepuscule, this is one of my friends, her name is Rahne."

"You aren't going to ask Mr. Logan if you can keep it, are you? He may go bonkers."

"Don't be silly. Crepuscule is his own person. Right?"

"Whatever you wish My Lady."

Rahne stifled a giggle.

"I swear we are going to work on that."

"As you wish."

Rahne was about to go into a fit of laughter. I glared at both of them.

"My Lady, shall we move towards the Rushing Marshes?"

"Okay. C'mon Rahne." I gestured her over to where Crepuscule was standing. He gracefully leaned down until his chest touched the ground. I got on and held my hand out to her. She looked scared for a moment. 

She was wearing her jeans and one of her purple shirts. She must have changed before coming here, however she did it.

She then came forward and grabbed my hand, hoisting herself up behind me. Crepuscule then got up and started walking. Rahne clung to me, still afraid of the big creature beneath her. 

"It's okay. He won't drop us or eat us, will you Crepuscule?"

"I have not to this date fed upon the flesh of humans or mutants, and will make no changes to do so now. I cannot promise that you will not fall, but I will not allow you to fall intentionally."

"Great." I patted his neck. He seemed to preen a little.

Rahne relaxed after the first few miles, and was eager to hear about what I had gone through, especially where I got my clothes. So I began telling her everything.

It was good to find one of my friends after so long. I was afraid I wouldn't find them.  And now, if my assumption was correct, we'd find Jean in the Rushing Marshes.

I wonder why it's called the Rushing Marshes?

^^**^*^^**^^**^*^^*^**^*^*^*^*^^**^^*

Well, that's one mutant down, a whole group more to go. 

Raliena: Heh, yeah, I can relate too, though actually I'm a little scared of heights. Especially if the only way to get down is a bunch of stairs. But that is neither here nor there, I'm glad you like the story!

Laureate: Herman would like that. It'll give him a place to go if the other animals bother him. Heh, you do? I was trying to make him interesting and likeable, without turning him into a teletubby, if you will pardon the expression. I'm glad you like him!

Asteria: Thank you, the fashion designers took a little work, I'm glad they came out good. 

Chrissy: Well, I figured since they weren't staying very long in that city, I might as well not go into strict detail. But I tried to give a basic picture, and I'm glad it worked, and thank you! Lots of people seem to be warming to Crepuscule, and that's good, I'd hate to have a main character people hated. Herman thanks you for the hammock!

Anon(girl) :Lots of people seem to like Crepuscule for that. Herman thanks you for the jungle gym! …Heh, thank you very much, I'm glad you like my stories. You make me embarrassed! But thank you.

Dragonet: Don't worry, even I fall behind on reviews. Actually, I'm notorious for it, really. Thank you, Crepuscule seems to be getting a small fan base. And Herman thanks you for the toys! Sorry about the acolytes.

PrincessofWildfire: I'm just glad that you like them, I don't really mind which one you like best. Hope your hard drive doesn't give you too much trouble! Glad you like the story!

Arin Ross/Arain Rowan/Anee: Thank you very much…Hm, maybe she should lay off the sugar, I heard that starts problems. As for Twi-Twi…I suppose it's close enough. As long as you all are enjoying the story. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Herman will take the reviews, and thanks you all for the gifts he got!


	9. The Rushing Marshes

A/N

My, I'm on a little bit of a roll! Sorry for not updating anything yesterday, I was sidetracked. 

Whack: The sound that is made one something small hits something larger. Usually painful.

Snore: A horrific sound made from your roommate just as you're about to fall asleep.

Note: I just made up these definitions, so don't use them on any tests or anything, okay?

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"Does he snore?"

"I dunno. Hey, Crepuscule do you snore?"

"I most assuredly do not."

"That means he does."

"Lady Rahne, I did hear that comment."

"The effect would have been lost if you hadn't."

It was remarkable how easily Rahne got along with Crepuscule now. It had only been a couple hours and already they were chatting like the best of friends.

Maybe chatting is a strong word. It was an improvement over the whole screaming and running away thing, though.

Night had come and now we were stumbling through the last part of the woods, which had become pitch black. I have to assume Crepuscule can see in the dark, or else we may be in big trouble. Since it was dangerous to wander around at night, as the Professor has informed countless times, we all decided just to plop down and get a little sleep. With any luck, Jean would sense us, fly over us, maybe scare Crepuscule and then it would be the four of us. Or three of us, if he ran away far enough.

Rahne shifted to her wolf form and took a sniff around our chosen sleeping spot. She returned with her tail wagging, so I assumed everything was okay. She shifted back to human form and sat beside me, with some trouble because she couldn't see me all that well.

"So the Rushing Marshes in the morning, hunh?"

"I guess so." I felt the ground. It was as hard as a rock. I let my hand wander, and touched Rahne's arm on accident. She squeaked in terror. "Sorry."

"No problem." She sounded a little annoyed.

Still groping around I felt my hand touch what felt like velvet. "Crepuscule?"

"You are touching my ribs, My Lady."

"Oh good. Then I'm going to sleep here."

"My Lady?"

I made a pillow out of his shoulder. Rahne came up behind me and leaned on him too.

"The ground is hard. You are soft. We mutants are picky about what we sleep on."

"I…see."

If he was blushing, I couldn't tell. Why did he blush, anyway? He kept on saying that he was a beast, but he never really acted like one. True animals don't blush when they walk in on someone bathing, male or female. If anything, they don't care. Then again, I've never met an animal like him before, so I could be trying to reconcile him with the wrong set of guidelines. Maybe I needed mythical creature guidelines. Yeah, right. 

My eyes grew heavy as I listened to the rhythmic breathing on either side of me. Rahne, who snuffled a little in her sleep, and Crepuscule, whose deep, steady breathing was strangely comforting, like being curled up next to a bear. Nothing can hurt me here.

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Lying his head across one of his scaled legs, he watched the two young girls sleeping against his side. They were young, but also experienced, even if not of this world. It had surprised him greatly to hear of such a young girl being able to fight off a group of Demights. He had always heard they were a vicious sort, if he hadn't already learned that in the between world. 

What bothered him though, was the thought that this group had been separate from the others. 

Why?

Why this group? Were the other groups of Demights he saw scattered apart? Was this only one piece of that entire group? If so, then why? What would cause such a thing to happen?

The spell they used to teleport back to this world must have been interrupted somehow. That would be the only way they would have managed to disappear into so many groups. They should have all disappeared as one group.

He mentally replayed the events that happened after he first met the young Lady Danny.

He scooped her up and flew her through the gate back towards Esperanza's House. But before he got there, he saw the long line of Demights. They were carrying the people, one of which he now had curled up against his side. He attacked them. They started disappearing group by group.

That was it.

The group was meant to teleport as one, but the Demights were not far enough from the gate to the other world to do something like that. To set off such a powerful magic spell within the bounds of the gates was incredibly dangerous. The enchantments placed on the gate to stop magic or magic beings of the between world from entering the worlds beyond could have devastating effects on any spell cast within it's boundaries, unless that spell was permanently placed, such as the spell he had before he met Lady Danny. The spell could cease to function entirely, as a best case scenario, but the worse that could happen was that it could set off a chain reaction, and the snap back of the spell would immediately kill it's caster. The transportation spell that was used must have broken apart, setting the groups down erratically.

But by doing so there was always the risk that those being transported could find themselves inside a rock, or underneath a large body of water, or even several miles in the air. There was no garauntee that any creature would land safely. It was just luck that Lady Rahne had been spared this awful fate.

And he certainly did hope that this luck held out, for their sake.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"AHHHHHHHH!!!"

"What? What?! What's going on-OW!!!"

My head slammed painfully into Crepuscule's underwing. He snorted in pain.

"Ahhh---oh. Okay."

I stared at Rahne while still holding my bruised head. "What was that about?!"

"I though I was having a dream and when I woke up I was going to be in a nice fluffy bed, and I could just feel it, but then I realized it was some big monster. But it's okay now, I know it's just Crepuscule." Her explanation had a sleepy undertone to it. And what really irked me was that she sounded so calm about it that it annoyed me to no end. 

"So you just thought you'd wake me up to tell me that?!"

"I didn't wake you up."

"Yes you did! You were screaming!"

"You were snoring!"

"I was not!"

"Yes you were! Tell her Crepuscule!" Rahne demanded. Crepuscule was nursing his wing and promptly ignoring the both of us.

I admire him for that in a way. Usually people stare at two girls that are screaming to each other.

"I was not snoring!"

"Were too!"

"Were not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Screamer!"

"Snorer!"

"May I ask the Ladies when we plan upon leaving this morning?"

"I so do not snore! Give us an hour. The lead should be out by then." I told him.

"You do too! Any food this morning?"

"I do not. Look in my pack, there's jerky."

She immediately pounced on my bag, and pulled out a couple strips of meat and began chewing on them. I sat beside her and pulled out a few strips for me too, and gave some to Crepuscule.

"You eat meat, right?"

"Yes. Among other things."

"Well, this will tide us all over for awhile. Then we gotta find something else."

"Will not those rations feed the two of you? I can find my own food."

"We're teenage girls. You honestly think this is enough food?"

Rahne stifled a giggle through her mouth full of jerky.

An hour later, with breakfast eaten and whatever things taken care of that needed to be, Rahne and I jogged alongside Crepuscule.

"I am fully capable of carrying you two."

"We know, but if we let you carry us all the time, then we'll have more time to worry about our slim figures." Rahne  commented. Personally, I was more worried about running the big guy down. I didn't want him to tire himself out with all the unnecessary weight.

"Hey, Wait a sec." Rahne pointed to her knee. "Could you make a tear here on either leg?"

"Why, Lady Rahne?"

"Because it is hot out here. I can't believe you don't notice."

"Oh…alright."

There he goes again, blushing. He shot out his paw and made two rips on her jeans. Rahne immediately tore the bottoms off. She hadn't been nicked once.

"Ah, freedom!"

"Better keep your shoes. One of us should have some footwear." I joked. We tossed the discarded pant legs into my little pack, and I slung it over my shoulder. The Squinky had the foresight to put a strap on the bag.

 We kept walking until Crepuscule called for us to stop.

"Now you must ride on my back. It is very dangerous through this way."

"Why?" I squinted around. The telltale signs of a marsh or swamp were becoming more clear. An increase of moss on the trees, a hike in humidity, and the kind of background drone in my head that only came from the hundreds of billions of sleepy insects and animals. It was daytime. Many swamp creatures are night animals. 

"The marshes are very hard to see at first. It would be easy for two young ladies such as yourselves to become mired in them."

"Well okay." I turned and walked up to him. He bent down and I crawled onto his back. Rahne hopped up beside me.

"Mired?" She cocked an eyebrow at me. I just grinned.

Lightly flapping his wings, he stepped forward very carefully and began moving with extreme caution across the ground.

After awhile, I felt heat beating down on me. I looked up and noticed that the trees were getting sparser.

That's odd. The trees should be getting thicker if not staying the same.

_SSTTTHHHHUK.___

"Whoa." I jerked my head around, trying to place the noise. "What was that?"

"I don't know, but it came from over there." Rahne pointed between two trees.

_SSSTTTHHHUUKKKK.___

I jerked my head away towards the new sound. "Crepuscule?"

"Sinkholes. They go off every once in awhile."

"Sinkholes…are they making that sound on their own? That isn't normal, is it?"

"It is for this particular place."

"And what exactly is this particular place and why isn't it acting normal?"

"This is the Rushing Marshes. Underneath this ground, there is an underground river, or at least, there used to be. It turned to sludge when the mountain spring it came from began to spout unhealthy water from its depths. It turned this plash into a marsh, because underneath this ground is a cave in which the sludge accumulates before passing on. The reason the sinkholes are making those sounds is because the water is moving, creating a sort of suction effect in certain points."

"So…those sinkholes are actually sinking as we speak."

"Yes. And anything caught in those sinkholes sink even faster with the added suction. That is why I requested you ride upon my back. Usually the sinkholes are only the size of one of the Squinky, but in many ways, the size of Squinky and human do not differ."

"I hope Jean didn't get stuck in one." Rahne whispered to me. I nodded.

Suddenly, a small, robed figure came flying through the trees. Literally.

_WHAAAAACCKK!_

"Owwie." That looked like it hurt. The little robed man was half through a tree, slumped over. I couldn't really tell if it was breathing or not.

As if that wasn't enough, a little herd of the creatures came bolting through totally ignoring us and looking like they got the fear of Mr. Logan put into them.

"You are so DEAD WHEN I GET AHOLD OF YOU! WHERE IS SCOTT!?"

Ah. Scratch that, it has become the fear of Jean.

She came flying through with her hair flowing like snakes and just looking downright scary. Rahne and I were totally speechless. I'm not quite sure what Crepuscule was doing, but it probably involved him watching slack jawed like the rest of us. She flew right past us. I think her eyes may be glowing. Though, I'm told that severe anger does that to a person. I swear, I've seen my Mom's eyes glow more than once.

"…Should we, uh…."

"Maybe we should leave her alone, she seems to have everything in hand." I said a little shakily. It's not everyday you see a psychic person that angry. And it was terrifying. I had a death grip on Crepuscule's ropes and I hadn't even noticed the pain.  

Speaking of which…

"Crepuscule? You okay?" I was trying to sound brave and collected, but somehow it was just not working.

"That…girl…is she?"

"Yeah, she's my friend."

"Oh dear."

"You okay?"

"Yes, *ahem*, I'm fine." He straightened himself out and beat his wings, rising off the ground. He gained a little altitude and began skimming the trees in the direction that Jean went.

"I thought we couldn't fly above trees?"

"Considering the person we are looking for, it won't be that hard to spot her."

"True. You okay Rahne?"

"Yep."

"Cool."

Crepuscule suddenly arced and gracefully slipped below the trees.

"Your friend."

I looked down and saw Jean struggling to get out of a sinkhole.

"Uh oh. Jean!"

She looked up and saw me and Rahne, and her face brightened.

"You're alright! Have you seen Scott?"

"Girl has a one track mind." Rahne said to me. "No, we haven't. Stay there, we'll pull you out."

"Where exactly do you think I'll be going?!" 

We both decided to blissfully ignore that comment and leaned down as Crepuscule glided over her. We each grabbed one of her arms.

"Fly!"

"And don't let us fall!" Rahne added.

Crepuscule beat his wings down hard, and there were squelching sounds as Jean came loose. He slammed his wings down again, and she was almost free. The third time almost unseated me as Jean shot loose and Crepuscule barrel rolled upwards, keeping us above the trees and swinging away across the forest.

"If you can fly, how did you get stuck in that sinkhole?" Rahne asked as she pulled Jean up. I was wondering the same thing.

"They were trying to grab me again, and I turned to get away."

"So."

"There was a tree in the way." She said with obvious embarrassment. 

"Well there's using your head." I joked. She glared at me, than just stared.

"What are you wearing?"

*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^^*^*^*^*

What indeed? Well, they found Jean and now have no leads. I wonder what will happen?

Asteria: Yeah, Rahne is cool. One of my favorites, but that isn't saying much, because they're practically all my favorites. Yes, they are, aren't they? I wonder if that's an ingrained response? Too many fairytale readings?

Laureate: Heh, yeah, he is kinda huggable, once you get past the fact that he's big with sharp teeth and claws. Danny in Wonderland? Sounds like a parody that might be fun to do, if it wasn't already overdone. Though I have been toying with the idea of making an Arcane story…a parody, that is. But it's still in the works.

PrincessofWildfire: Would you believe that sometimes it's hard to keep him talking that way? I have to go back an check to make sure he doesn't sound like a teenager because I've been writing for them so long. I'm glad you like it!

Anee/Arain Rowan/Arin Ross: Thank you very much, I hope you like this chapter just as much. As far as the E-bay thing…I wonder if that happens to everyone? I know someone who's on E-bay all the time and I'm not quite sure she's all there. 

Anon(girl): Ah yes. That I do realize (and you spelt them correctly, by the way.) but the fact of the matter is, my real skill with writing for accents is slim if not none. I'm much better at writing different forms of speech, such as Crepuscule's gentlemanly manner. What I actually do is sometimes skip accents entirely, they didn't really have them in the show very much anyway. And that little slip up happened when I was writing, I actually was playing with accents, but dropped that, and forgot to change that part back. Now that I think about it, it's Shakespearean. Where'd that come from? Oh well. Tut. Now, I don't mind criticism at all, in fact I welcome it. Don't be afraid of setting me off, I'm usually a very reasonable person. I won't bite your head off or anything. Ah, but I write too much. My response is longer than your review. Glad you liked the chapter!

Chaotic Dreamer: Then I shan't keep you waiting any longer! Hope you like it!

Herman shall take the reviews today! He hopes you all have a wonderful day!


	10. Noise and Silence

A/N

My longest chapter to date! Hope you guys enjoy!

Cliché: A trite or overused expression or idea

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"So which way from now?"

"Don't you have any idea where the others are?"

"No clue." I said guiltily.

"Where did you hear about me in the first place?"

"In a city paved with metal."

"…A city paved with metal?"

"Hey, it's not that unbelievable. You got kidnapped by three foot tall monsters in robes and are now riding on the back of a dragon…thing. That reminds me, Crepuscule, are you okay?" I asked him.

"None of you are very heavy, I'll be fine."

"You sure? I can fly, you know."

"Yes…I saw that." He said a little nervously.

All three of us girls were sitting on his back, which, remarkably, could seat three people very easily. But I was still worried he'd over-exert himself. The Marshes were a lot bigger than it had first seemed. I didn't want him to keel over and lose him in a sinkhole or something. There was also the matter of all of us sitting on his back, so we'd hit the ground too. 

I was in the middle. My hands had started bleeding again and I was having trouble holding the ropes. Rahne had taken place up front, and since Jean kind of stunk, we put her as far away from Crepuscule's nose as possible. Not only was the sludge that covered her very unflattering, it was also pretty pungent. The only real saving grace was the fact the Crepuscule flew so fast that the smell was being blown backwards.

Crepuscule flapped easily, taking long wing beats to move as fast as possible without tiring himself out. The Marsh below us seemed to flow by. I gazed at the scenery with fascination. I couldn't get over this world. It was fun and so new. True, I hadn't had the chance to talk to much of the animals a lot, but I could hear them and see them and they were incredible. And the geography was beyond belief. Rushing marshes? Natural gauntlets of quicksand? Though, I suppose home is a lot like that too. Death Valley. The Everglades. Everything has its own dangerous charm I guess.

I looked down at my hands and winced. The bandages were stained with dirt and blood. I'd need a new dressing soon.

"What did you do to get that?" Jean whispered. She was gravely concerned for me. I think her need to protect Rahne and I has returned, knowing that she's the oldest and most mature here. I was glad for it. Just knowing somebody's watching out for me makes me feel better.

"I mixed mutation with magic and got these results."

"What magic?"

"The magic that was attached to your ride." I gestured down.

"He hurt you?!" Her voice raised drastically and Crepuscule snorted in apprehension.

"It was an accident. He didn't mean to. So don't hold it against him. He's helping me now, and you too, so don't worry."

"How did he hurt you?!" She still wasn't calm. Crepuscule was getting nervous.

"I was trying to wake him up and his magic was designed to absorb magic. It mistook my mutation for magic, and pulled it out." I said carefully. "He lost consciousness in the temple I was in when I found him. I lost consciousness after the mutation was pulled out. He took me here to see his nice Master Esperanza, and she booted me out of her house. The rest is old history."

She looked at me, then narrowed her eyes.

"Don't sugarcoat the truth to a psychic."

Oops. Forgot about that.

"Worth a try."

"What really happened?"

"Exactly what I said!" I defended.

"My Lady has left bits out, if Lady Jean would permit me to speak."

"Crepuscule. I'm doing just fine. She was about to believe me!"

"Yeah, right." Rahne snorted. I glowered at the back of her head.

"Go ahead." Jean said.

"When I was traversing between worlds, I was attacked by the Demights that kidnapped you. Had the Lady Danny not pulled me the rest of the way into your world, I most surely would have died. I…was exhausted, and fell, only by my most terrible folly it was on Lady Danny. As far as I can speculate, out of self-defense she used her…'mutation' which was mistaken for magic, and caused the wounds upon her hands. Soon after I awoke, and took her to the Lady Esperanza."

"Funny, that doesn't look a thing like my first picture." Jean glared at me. I quickly looked somewhere else. Psychic glares of death are not really something I like to mess with.

"So Demights are wandering around everywhere? What's the point?" Rahne broke in.

"I don't know." Crepuscule sounded a little put out about that. I think he liked being a constant source of information.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with those butterflies?"

"You saw the butterflies too?" Jean asked Rahne. I was totally lost.

"Butterflies?"

"Yeah. There were a whole bunch of butterflies flying around, I think Mr. McCoy called them Morphos. They were acting weird." Rahne supplied.

"Weird?" 

"They weren't acting like butterflies should. It was like they were really upset. Or drunk."

"Drunk." Butterflies didn't get drunk. And butterflies don't act in the fashion they were talking about. Did it have anything to do with the temples and the strange feelings I got?

"Yep." Rahne nodded. "Instead of having that nice, floaty flying, they were flying around really weird."

"I didn't see any butterflies at the temple. Did see some interesting stains and stuff."

"Stains?" Jean asked.

"Yeah. Blood. Fresh, too.  I asked Crepuscule about it, he said he didn't know anything about it. Right?"

"Yes, My Lady."

"Well, the butterflies I saw acted the same way. And there were weird howls."  Jean said to us. Now, that was too much of a coincidence. 

Morphos…

"The Demights howl as a war cry." Crepuscule told her calmly. But I could still see he was worried she might turn on him. 

"So what else was weird about the temple you were in?"

"Bad vibes. Cleared roads. Clean rooms. Things that happen in a day even though all the animals said that it was totally covered with grass and moss at dusk. Unnaturally creepy things, like birds not flying over the buildings, stuff like that."

"What's up with the birds?"

"Don't you know?" Rahne asked Jean. "It a bad omen, one of the worst. It's one of those omens that tell people there's some seriously bad magic in that place. The worst kind of bad luck. Crossing paths with black cats doesn't even compare."

"You know, a week ago I would have said magic was fake and didn't exist." Jean sighed.

"Hope you didn't make any bets." I joked lightly.

"Weren't you the same way?"

"Grandma told me once that I should never assume something didn't exist. 'Look at Ceolacamps', she said. 'People didn't think they existed, and boom! One gets caught. Imagine what won't exist tomorrow!' Then she would go off on a tangent about how the only non-existent thing was Congress. And then I'd fall asleep while I was still on the phone."

"That's horrible!"

"Yeah, but it made for a great conversation starter. Go to any of my Arkansas uncles when you wanted to get out of something, tell them that Congress didn't exist, and watch the sparks fly while you make your getaway. Of course, now being banned from that state, I don't have to resort to those tactics anymore."

"How can you joke about that?" Jean asked me. I shrugged.

"Because it's funny. And if I don't laugh at myself or things in my life, then I won't be able to deal when something big comes my way. Should it ever happen." I grinned. "My philosophy is that life is only lived once, so you have to be happy to live it well."

"Does it work?" Rahne asked me.

"Wonders."

"Maybe that should be my philosophy." She said decisively. 

"We shall land soon. There is a river where Lady Jean can bathe." 

"It isn't underground, is it?" I raised myself up a bit so I could see over Rahne's head. There was a winding blue river there in the distance.

"It is not, as you can see. I will land in that grove beside the river, it will give much shelter should we choose to stay the night."

"Might as well. We don't have any leads right now, and I'm tired." Jean said. "We need to be ready for anything, and I'm too tired to make a dent."

"Bet that's not what the Demights are saying." Rahne grinned back at me.

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"How do you clean this stuff off?" I growled as I used a stick to beat dried sludge off Jean's jeans. Rahne had her shirt, and was doing better than I was. She laid the shirt out to dry, picked up a stick and came to help me. I had the jeans slung over a branch. We beat them until the caked on sludge dropped off, then we both stared.

"Uh…Maybe they were camo when she started?" 

"I don't think so." Rahne vigorously shook her head. "These were her favorite too. I feel bad for her."

"Well, it's better than nothing. Should we have Crepuscule cut them?"

Speaking of the creature, he was sitting on the bank with his ears straight up but his eyes so tightly closed I was wondering if he'd ever open them again. Probably best he didn't. He might start blushing.

Jean was in her underwear when she bathed. She didn't feel as comfortable when she bathed in the open.

Not that I could blame her, I'm the same way. Rahne too. Who knew what kind of wierdos were wandering around out here?

"Hey Jean!" She looked at me. I showed her the jeans. "Want us to cut the legs off? It'll be easier to move around."

"Go ahead."

"She took that well." Rahne commented. I shrugged.

"Crepuscule." I walked over and lay the jeans on the other side of him, away from the river. "Cut the legs off, like you did Rahne's." 

He opened one eye very slowly. Assured there was nothing embarrassing, he lashed out a paw and neatly severed the legs of the pants. 

"Thanks. You can go back to hiding your eyes."

"Much obliged, My Lady." He closed his eye tightly again.

I shook my head and silently laughed. I tossed the jeans to Rahne, who hung them over a branch. I squatted by the river and began unwrapping my hands. It was a slow and painful process. I did my best not to look at my hands as I pulled the useless bandages off. I was afraid what I'd see.

I dimly heard Crepuscule sniff the air, and looked down at my hands, which were now free of bandages.

That's…not good.

The outside of the cuts were turning purple with bruising, and in the cuts was dirt, which was irritating the wounds. Blood was coming out of my hands and I winced at the sight. Just looking at it was painful. I closed my eyes and dunked them into the water.

"Ouch!" I lost my balance and tipped backwards. Something burrowed itself into my back, catching me before I fell.

"My Lady, you should be more careful. The cuts are infected."

I looked under my elbow to see the deep dark eyes of Crepuscule. He had really pretty eyes. Not like a lizard, or even a deer. It was a round eye, with a round pupil, not horizontal or slitted. I noticed it was a very dark brown. Very pretty.

"My Lady?"

"Hunh? Oh, sorry, just admiring your eyes. What were you saying?"

"The cuts are infected. You need to be more careful in cleaning them." He nudged me forward a little so I could catch my own balance. I sat down cross legged. I gently put one of my hands below the water as he looked over my shoulder. I winced as the current battered my hand.

"It will hurt. Everything you do to your hands will hurt. But if they are not cleaned correctly, you may catch a sickness, or you may grow fevered. It could very well kill you."

"Thank you, Mr. Comfort. You think I need to stitch these cuts?"

"Most likely."

"Oh. I think I'm in a little bit of trouble. They don't teach those classes at the Institute."

"The stitches don't need to be straight, they just need to hold the wound closed." 

"We don't have a needle or thread. Is there a town nearby we can go to?" I asked as I retracted my hand and put the other one in.

"I am not familiar with the area, but I believe that we can reach a crossroads by midday tomorrow if we set out in the morning. There should be an infirmary there."

"Cool. Hey, can you get those jean pieces out of my pack and cut them up for me? I want to use them as bandages. These won't work." I gestured to the dirty bandages with my free hand.

"As you wish, My Lady."

I started feeling bad again. My hands were stopping me from doing my duties. I had to find the rest of my friends, and I was here worrying about myself. But if I didn't worry about myself, I may not be able to find my friends. 

This is like some Zen riddle.

He came back with the makeshift bandages and laid them at my feet. I wrapped my hands firmly, but not tightly. The tough fabric was making my eyes tear up. I got up and lightly patted his nose with my fingers.

"Thanks."

He nodded solemnly. I noticed that Rahne and Jean were sitting in the grove, the latter fully dressed. She must have been so for awhile, if Crepuscule could move around without blushing.

I joined them and sat down. Jean nodded at me. Rahne looked curiously at Crepuscule, who was sitting outside the grove.

"Come on inside, Crepuscule, we won't bite."

He looked a little nervous. "It would not be proper."

"We rode on your back for most of the day. Dann and I slept on you last night. Things can't get more proper, no matter how much you try."

He snorted exasperatedly and walked into the grove, staying a respectful distance from the rest of us. We broke open our pack of food, and Jean ate quite a few. I guess psychic power takes it out of her. I ate only two strips. All of a sudden it felt like I didn't have to eat a whole lot. I didn't trust that feeling, so I ate the second one too. We all gave some strips to Crepuscule, who took them with grave thanks. He ate with his head turned from us, being polite.

After about an hour of discussion, we all finally decided to bed down, even though there were a few hours of daylight left. All of us were tired, and worried, even Crepuscule, though I'm not sure what he had to be worried about.

Rahne was worried about the other kids, and probably most about Sam.

Jean was certainly worried about Scott, but the added strain of feeling responsible for everyone seemed to weigh heavily on her.

Crepuscule. His way of moving as he was about to sleep told me he was worried too.

And me. Worried about myself. Worried about my friends who were worried. Worried about friends not yet found. 

And worried about butterflies.

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**B-BMP.******

My heartbeat is so loud.

**B-BMP.******

Is there something wrong?

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP. B-BMP. **

Why is it speeding up?

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP. B-BMP.**

Am I scared?

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP. B-BMP.**

What's going on?!

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP. B-BMP.**

**BMP.******

I shot straight up in panic, head full of sleep. Light snores from my friends told me I was not alone, but panic was still lumped in my throat. Desperately, I shook Jean. I wanted to talk to her, tell her I was scared. I shook Rahne with my other hand. I had gotten to the point where I fell asleep between people, it was just safer. Rahne was my good friend, she'd help me laugh at everything. It would be all right.

**B-BMP.******

Why weren't they waking up?!

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP.**

I darted across the grove half blind and slammed bodily into Crepuscule's sleeping form. That way of acting could get my head batted off, but I was too panicked to care. I shoved him again, but he wasn't getting up either. I ran back to Rahne and Jean.

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP. B-BMP.**

"Wake up!" I had a huge lump in my throat. I shook Rahne hard, but she just kept on sleeping. It wasn't natural. I let her slump back down to her original position and sat down hard in the middle of the grove. I was trying to calm myself down, but it was getting harder and harder as I began to wake up more and more. 

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP. B-BMP. B-BMP.**

I was scared. Terrified. My friends weren't waking up, I was helpless, the animals had all gone away.

**B-BMP.******

The background noise was gone. I couldn't hear anything except deafening silence. I closed my eyes and tried to take deep breaths, but it wasn't working. 

**B-BMP.******

I was panicking so badly that it got hard to breathe, and I couldn't think straight. My heart was hammering in my chest, the only sound I could hear. It was drowning out the noises of sleep made by my friends.

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP.**

Suddenly I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed noise. I needed to know that I wasn't all alone.

**B-BMP.**** B-BMP.**

I bolted out of the trees, at first using my hands to help propel my body than steadying on two legs.

**B-BMP.******

Something grabbed me around the waist and I screeched like some injured animal and tried to struggle away. I wasn't thinking right.

"It's all right, everything will be fine." A voice whispered close to my ear. It had a very strange effect. I immediately calmed.

I wasn't all alone. There was someone right here.

"I did not realize my spell would frighten you that much. You must be calm."

I dully registered his words but they didn't make any sense. My heart toned down and started acting normally. Soon I couldn't hear it. But I also didn't hear any animals.

"Be calm," the voice ordered. My breathing came deeper and my panic started to subside even as I realized that someone I didn't know had me around the waist. "You will be fine. Everything will be fine." 

The voice had an odd quality, like something old yet…strangely youthful. Whoever it was had the build of a human, judging by the way they were holding me. The voice sounded male, but it was dark, and I couldn't be sure.

"You must relax."

But I didn't want to relax now. To relax would let my guard down in the face of an unknown threat. But I was already spent. The panic, my harshly beating heart had taken a toll. My shoulders slumped tiredly.

"Good."  He let me go. I fell to my knees. Embarrassment flooded me. Why did I do that? Was I really that tired?

"The fault is mine." He appeared to be talking more to himself than me. "They said she may not be able to deal with such a large transition. I should have watched more carefully."

Transition? They?

A hand gently seized my arm and pulled me up. I looked down at the ground as I steadied myself.

"Look at me." 

I looked up hesitantly.

The moon shone bright in this clearing. I hadn't even realized I moved so far from the grove. That seems to happen more and more lately. 

Before me stood a dark robed man, in a matching dark hood. The being towered over me easily. From that hood I could see white hair fall across the dark robes. It was long, but not from his beard. From what I could tell, he had no beard. I glanced down at the hand on my arm. It was as white as ivory, but gave off an almost blue undertone to it, and I began to have odd thoughts about why he wore that robe and the sun. I guess my panicked mind wasn't quite back to normal. I looked back at the hood and suddenly felt my heart  skip a beat.

Red eyes.

Not glowing red eyes like that Cajun boy Rogue liked, but the kind of eyes that make you think twice, because you don't believe yourself the first time.

Was he an albino? No, not with those eyes. There had to be something else.

His hood kept me from discerning anymore of his features. 

"You are the girl that speaks with animals, are you not?"

I dumbly nodded, trying to get past his odd appearance.

"I knew this. Your name is Danielle, yes?"

"Yes." I managed to croak out before pieces started fitting together in my head. I stared for a moment, then the last piece snapped into place. "What did you do to my friends?" I snarled eyes narrowing.

"They are asleep. I placed them under a sleeping enchantment."

"Well, unplace them! You have no right!"

"I have every right. My only desire is to speak with you. They are nothing to me."

"They are everything to me!" I burst out, surprising myself. I bit my lip a little. There goes my mouth again, saying things that don't need to be said.

"Yes…They were right about you." He said smugly.

"Right about what? And who?" I demanded. He was starting to tick me off.

"That you'll find out later. But now…I have a gift for you, and a small piece of information that you might find…useful, in you endeavors."

"I don't think I want anything you can give me."

"You think what you wish. Soon it will come to pass that you'll thank me for my generous gift."

"Maybe after I connect my fist to your jaw."

"Perhaps. But don't count on that. Here." He held out his hand. In his palm lay a small, silver ring.

"I'm not a fan of jewelry."

"That's too bad for you. This ring will help protect you. It comes with the blessing of an entire world. Your world." He grabbed my wrist and pressed the ring into my palm. "You don't have to wear it. Just keep it with you for all time."

"What do you mean, my world?"

"My information for you comes next. Fly north along the coastal border. You shall happen upon a town after several days travel. Look for the sellers and traders. You shall find one of your own when you seek."

"Why are you telling me this?" I searched those red eyes. "What's in it for you?"

"That answer I cannot give now, like so many others. But soon. It is always soon."

"Wait a minute. What are you, some sort of walking cliché? Going to keep one of the main characters of this little charade dangling on a string? Why me?"

"Is that not a cliché in itself? The 'reluctant hero'?" He returned smugly.

"….Don't make me resort to violence to get my answers."

"And what exactly will you do? Your mutation is now dormant, perhaps even permanently, and the part of your mutation you can use is utterly useless in my presence."

"What if I tell you to go somewhere?" I bit back.

"Such manners. But I expect them from humans. Your temperament often leaves much to be desired. Goodbye. And expect another visit from me again."

"Don't inconvenience yourself."

"I don't plan to." Smoke seemed to pop up out of nowhere and envelop him. It swirled around him slowly, then expanded outwards into nothing.

I had to admit it was a nice exit.

Background noise suddenly popped up in my head and I looked around, stunned. They had always been here. Just silent. Something about that man had scared them into silence.

Well, at least it would be easy to tell where he was.

"Danny? Where are you?" Jean called from the grove. I gripped the ring in my hand. He only wanted to talk to me. Why? 

"I'm coming!" I forced myself to sound fine. No need to worry Jean about strange white haired men in black robes. She and Rahne were already freaking out about the other kids, they didn't need to worry about this too. 

It was probably a stupid idea, not to tell them. But something was stopping me from doing it. Something about what he said about my world and people who talk about me…I wanted to learn more before I started sharing. That, and were they really going to believe me? Yeah, I got up and ran into this guy in black robes and white hair, and you were there and you were there…

I don't foresee this as a good conversation, even if Jean could pick my mind to see what was going on.

Besides, if he was going to hurt us, he would have done so when the others were asleep.

I hope.

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Whew, a long chapter. I couldn't find a good place to stop. So I kept writing! Hope you all don't mind! I know, black robed guy a little weird, but he'll get more interesting as he shows up more. I hope, at least.

Asteria: Still writing, no sign of stopping. Gee, you know I've been cranking out some long chapters for this story. That has to be some sort of new thing for me. Glad you like it!

Raliena: Sorry, Logan is still stuck back on our world, in comparison to this one. So it might be a good long time before we see an interaction between himself and Danny. I know, Jean is not a well liked character, but I'll try to make it as painless as possible. I'll try not to make her as stuck up. Glad you like it!

Anon(girl):  The most annoying ones usually are. Herman thanks you for his fly pie! Glad you and Fishy like the story!

Chaotic Dreamer: Yeah, I'm glad I don't too. I always think about it when I look at Jean. She's portrayed a lot as kind of weak. But I can see the potential for a nasty streak in her, which I intend to bring out. Glad you loved it, hope you like this one too!

PrincessofWildfire: Glad you think so! Hope this chapter makes it better too!

Herman will take the reviews today! And in spirit of these strange events in this story, he's wearing his own set of robes!


	11. Journey Onward, and back in the Homevers...

A/N

Well, I've updated a lot, but I just realized Comments from the characters has not been updated for awhile, so that will be my next update. 

Culture: These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population

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"Danny, you can open your eyes now."

"They don't look so bad."

"Don't look so bad, I bet they don't." I grumbled as I cracked one eye open slowly.

Neat, yet erratic stitches covered my hands. The doctor of the crossroads was about to bandage them back up.

It took us half a day to get to the crossroad town, which, really, wasn't even as much a town as more of a pit stop. Crepuscule told the other girls about my hands and how we need to stop, which was good, because I didn't really want to explain it myself. And it gave them both more of a chance to adjust to my friend. And everything was going good until we met the doc of the crossroads.

When he pulled out that needle, I almost took off. I'm not a sincere fan of pain. And painkillers were out of the question. I don't like any sort of drugs. They make me feel…dirty. And there was the fact that since the wound may still have magical traces, it might give me unwanted side effects. But, I almost rethought the whole thing when I realized the needle was big enough to sew up the stomach of an elephant, but not quite as sharp.

The doctor was squat, hairy, with a big mouth and watery eyes. I didn't like him at all. And I vowed that as soon as he was done bandaging my hands I'd keep as far away from him as possible. The other girls were reacting about the same, and Jean kept on grimacing. As soon as I had my eyes open, Rahne retreated outside to Crepuscule. I think she probably smelled something on the doctor she didn't particularly like.

"Now, too much strenuous exercise will break the thread, so be careful. Now, how will you pay for this?"

I looked at Jean. She shrugged. As an afterthought, I pulled off my bracelet.

"Take this."

"And what's that?"

"It's a very special gift, given to me by people a long way from here."

"It's not enough."

"If I give you another, will that be enough?"

"Depends."

"It's a matching set. Sun and Moon." I coaxed. His whiny voice was getting on my nerves. He may be a good doctor, but I was getting anxious to leave.

"Very well." He huffed. I pulled my anklet off and gave it to him. I hurriedly got up with Jean and we walked out fast.

I was calm and composed until we managed to get beside Crepuscule.

"Yuck. Yuckyuckyuck."

"Danny, he helped you." Jean admonished me. 

"Yeah, but he was giving me the creeps." Rahne shuddered. "Did you smell him? He smells like a dead thing!"

"Rahne!"

"You can't sugarcoat the truth." She defended. I tapped the side of Crepuscule's neck with my fingers. He swung his head over to look at me.

"What's to the north?" I asked him as my friends argued.

"To the North this continent wanes, but I have heard that it takes several days to reach the edge. Upon the edge is a small group of port towns. Beyond that, there are several large and small continents, each ruled over by a different culture of magic."

"Culture of magic?" I asked curiously.

"Yes. Different cultures, much like your world. The cultures study different magics, and only a basic knowledge is shared anywhere. Do you wish to leave to the North?"

"…Yes." Bad idea. It's going to be a horrible idea.

He stared at me, then nodded. I think he sensed that I was troubled. But, being the polite creature he is, decided not to interfere. I looked at him for a minute.

"How old are you?"

"Beg pardon?"

"How old are you?" I repeated.

"I…don't know. I am over fifty year."

"You don't know how old you are?" I asked quizzically. "How'd that happen?"

"I'm…" he began pawing the ground nervously, "not quite sure."

"Oh." I let the matter drop. "So, what do you do for fun?"

"What?"

"We barely know anything about each other, and we appear to be in this for the long run, so let's make an attempt to figure stuff out about ourselves, hmm?"

"I see."

"I like music. I'm sixteen, I like animals, I don't like to take medicine, and I like to walk even if I don't know where. My best friend in the entire world is my dog, even though he's not here. I'm clumsy, and I tend to get hurt a lot, but it's usually not too bad, unless you count the car accidents…never mind those. So, what about you?"

"I am over fifty year…I like…to read. Books."

"That's cool."

"Cool?"

"Awesome. Great."

"Ah."

"Go on. You're on a roll, don't stop now." I encouraged shamelessly.

"I don't like being yelled at, or making my Mistress upset." He was starting to warm up to his subject now. "I like to fly across the clouds…ah…."

He started faltering. 

"You like to fly across the clouds…" I started, willing him to go on.

"And…I don't have many friends. I am graceful, but sometimes, I grow complacent, and…" He dropped his voice to a really low whisper. I had to lean in to hear it.

"…Sometimes I hit the ground in a most undignified manner."

I stifled a laugh and tried to keep solemn, but the picture of Crepuscule just flying without a care in the world before crashing into the ground was kind of funny. It was so out of character for him.

"Anything else?" I pressed. He looked at me for a moment, then shook his head. "No? Any plans for the future?"

"My future lies with you, Lady Danny."

"It can't lie with me forever."

He turned his head away at that comment, and I stared at him. What was with that dragon creature?

"Are we ready?" Rahne suddenly chirped next to me, scaring me. "Let's go!" 

"Don't over exert yourself, Danny." Jean reminded me.

"Okay Mom."

"Don't make me beat some respect into you, girl!" She said mock threateningly.

Rahne gasped. "Oh no! We have to see that Doctor, Jean's been possessed with someone who has a sense of humor!"

"I have a sense of humor! I just can't show it because no one's on my maturity level."

"I'll say."

"What was that, Miss Sinclair?"

"Nothing. Hey Crepuscule, lift your paw and let me step on it, I always get dizzy the other way." She stepped onto Crepuscule's raised paw and used the boost to get on his back.

"Nifty. Why didn't I think of that?" I wondered aloud as I used the same method. Jean just floated up and sat on his back.

"So where to, gang?" Rahne asked. She seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. After all, she sat in the front and got to see all the cool things I got to see when I first started out. 

I'm jealous.

"North." Crepuscule said simply.

"Why north?" Jean asked.

"There are towns up north. Several days from now. There we may find more of your group."

"Why don't we search here for clues first."

"We go north." He flicked his wings open and rocketed into the air, scaring all of us, so that we had to cling to each other in order not to fall off.

"My apologies. I will warn you next time."

"That'd be great, thanks." Rahne said shakily. I nodded in agreement. Jean was silent.

For about a minute.

"What is going on with you?" She asked Crepuscule sternly. He laid his ears flat against his skull. 

"Nothing. There is nothing here worth the Ladies' time."

Jean was about to say something else, but I elbowed her and shook my head. She gave me a funny look. I pointed to his ears.

Ears are a great indicator of emotion, in everything. When I'm embarrassed, my ears turn red. When animals are sad, the ears droop. When they're happy, the ears are perky and usually standing up. And when they're angry…the ears look like Crepuscule's. And that's a bad thing for something that big. He wasn't baring his teeth yet, but if she kept pushing the matter, it could get to the point. And from my experience, those are some pretty big teeth that I don't want to see anytime soon.

She didn't quite understand why I was gesturing to his ears, but she seemed to trust me enough to keep quiet.

That was certainly a good thing. I don't want to ride an angry animal. Bucking Bronco riders are paid for that. Not me. 

*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^

It had been a drag, flying the jet back. He didn't like driving the blasted plane, he was much more close to his bike.

And the flight had not improved his mood.

Logan stomped up the steps to the study, where Xavier was. He swung the door open.

"Chuck!"

"I'm glad you're alright Logan. Did you find anything?" 

"Nothing. It's like they disappeared inta thin air."

"This is most curious. I have not been able to pick up any of the X-men on Cerebro. However, I have noticed something odd."

"What? Besides the fact that a whole bunch of our kids were kidnapped by the freakin' munchkin brigade?"

"Patience Logan. I trust them, and you should too. It's true, they do all have their flaws, but they are all strong willed people. They will be alright. We have to remember too that Hank and Ororo are also with them, with any luck at all. We simply have to look for the cause and help them get home."

"Hunh." Logan grunted. "So what's 'odd'?"

"I believe this has something to do with the disappearance of our students. In fact, I'm almost certain of it. It started in South America."

Xavier hit a switch on his desk. A screen lowered itself down next to the wall, and a small hologram projector on his desk switched on, showing a map of the world, slowly turning.

"See here, in South America, the small range of blue dots. Those are the students several days ago. See where the red dots are? Those are representing the creatures you described to me over the phone. Now, notice how the blue and red dots disappear."

"You're tellin' me stuff I already know Chuck. What's the point?"****

"This is energy from Cerebro that I'm mapping. I have it turned on for a regular basis, as it monitors the entire world. I tweaked it after your phone call to show the enrgy forms you described. They disappeared not into thin air, but from this world. They may be on another planet, or even another dimension."

"This isn't making me happy."

"Nor I. But look at this." Xavier hit another switch. Suddenly what looked like erratic sonar appeared everywhere on the globe.

"What is that?" He growled. More bad news?

"Those are animal psyche waves."

"Doolittle. But what does that tell us?"

"I'm not quite sure. But I checked Cerebro before the incident, and none of these indicators showed up. Animals do not send out information this way. They must have realized what was happening, and passed the information along. I don't know how this mutation of hers works, but the way it affects the world even in her absence may lead us to some clues. We just need someone that can translate the language into something that we can understand."

"Who—no way. Doolittle's kid?"

"He already had Kurt contact me. I believe that one of the reasons for the animals to react was to inform him of what happened. I suspected this might happen, but I didn't know what to do with the information. Julian's empathic and psychic power isn't nearly as strong as Danielle's."

"Then what can he do to help?"

"If he can focus on one point, say one particular animal, he should be able to understand the language with little difficulty. One of Danielle's dogs should work, but just in case, we may want to pick a few animals from her room to take."

He grunted. He'd have to go up and see what was living in Doolittle's room. He wouldn't be surprised if a deer was up there, he'd seen stranger.

"We may also want to contact the other students. We may need help, if there are worse than these creatures that you described."

"Those little twerps were just lackeys. There's a lot worse skulkin' just around the bend, you can count on it, Chuck."

*^*^*^*^**^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^^*^*^**^*^

Hmm….Sounds interesting, I wonder what will happen?

Anon(girl): Ah yes. I know about the butterflies, but I didn't want to put that in there. You know, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction thing? I didn't want people to double take on that, it wouldn't have been productive to the story line. But the thought of drunk butterflies is kind of amusing, don't you think? Hope you figure out what's happening with the dudes, glad you liked the last chapter!

Asteria: Tut. Have you been reading my mental notes? Anyway, glad you like it!

Chrissy: Herman thanks you. He's been getting lots of compliments. Yes, I like Danny's philosophy too. I think it's a spin off the, 'don't take yourself too seriously' saying. Glad you like the chapter!

PrincessofWildfire: Yes, black robed men are usually cool, but sometimes they are horrifically overdone, I'm going to have to monitor him closely to make sure I don't overdo it. Steven King books are pretty cool, I liked the Green Mile the best. The Shining was pretty good too. 

Arin Ross/(not really Anee or Arain Rowan): Yes, I have heard those stories too. Fortunately though, I've heard the good outweighs the bad. Yes, Jean does. I just wonder if Scott does too? Anyway, I hope you like this chapter too!

Herman shall take the reviews! He seems rather attached to that black robe…


	12. Airsickness and the Return of Silence

A/N

I know, I didn't update for awhile, I'm sorry. But I'm trying all the time!

Airsickness: Sickness due to flying

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"Can we land? I'm gonna hurl!"

"Rahne!"

"I'm a wolf, not a bird! Let me down!"

Crepuscule snorted in concern and spiraled downwards.  I had my arms around Rahne, hoping that if she did toss her cookies, it would be over the side of the moving animal, and not all over me. Jean was trying to give words of comfort, but she wasn't looking too good herself. 

We had been flying for almost a full day. The most they had ever flown was about half a day, and I guess whatever airsickness they had was slow acting.

Speaking of which, aside from soreness of sitting on a flying dragon monster the entire day, I didn't have any sickness. I wonder if it will strike later? 

He touched down on the soft grass of a slightly raised bit of land, not quite a hill but certainly not flat. He almost fell to his knees and we all tumbled off. Rahne and Jean both took off to go be sick, and I stayed slumped against Crepuscule. I had no real will to be next to sick people. 

He stayed half crouched and looked worriedly towards Rahne and Jean. "I feel worried for them. Is sickness common amongst humans in this way?"

"Well, it all depends. I don't really feel sick, but humans aren't really used to flying like you, so it's easy for us to get sick."

"I apologize. It would be prudent for us to take more landing times, wouldn't it?"

"Probably."  I said a little absentmindedly. Rahne was staggering over to Jean to see if she was okay, but from here I could see that was nowhere I wanted to be. 

"Do you request I stop more often? Or do you wish for me to keep going at our pace?"

"Why are you asking me?" I said curiously. 

"Because I will do as you say." He said simply.

"Why?"

He seemed to consider this question for awhile. While he was thinking, I shifted my weight so he could sit down the rest of the way. He did, and turned his head to me.

"Because you are my Mistress."

I rose an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

He leaned his large head down on the ground. "You are my Mistress. I will do as you ask me."

"Uh…thanks." I said, totally confused. Why did he want me to be his Mistress? Wasn't Esperanza his Mistress? Or Master? "Um…We better take more breaks, I don't think we could handle Jean if we didn't."

"As you wish."

I stared at him for a minute, pondering if I should ask him what he meant by this 'mistress' thing, but then I decided that it would only complicate an overly-complicated situation.

"Alright, we're better." Rahne announced as she and Jean came over. I bit my tongue. They didn't look better. Jean was green. And that contrasted quite a bit with her red hair.

"Can we walk for a bit?" She moaned. I looked over at Crepuscule. He seemed a little worn out himself.

"Let's walk. It's going to be night soon, so we might as well make shelter. 'Sides, with the way Crepuscule flies, we should be at those port towns tomorrow!"

"How do you know that?" Jean asked skeptically. Never seen a green skeptic before.

"Call it a hunch? Besides, Crepuscule here said it would take a couple of days, but we've been flyin' almost nonstop, so we probably covered loads more ground, but I might just be wishful thinking, anyway, we'd better get moving. It's almost dusk." I pointed up to the sky, which was already beginning to gray as the light faded.

They agreed with me, and we started walking North, to cover more ground while still finding shelter. 

It was just a plain we were walking in, ankle-high grass and no flowers, and it seemed to stretch away into a sparse woods. If it could be called a woods. 

Crepuscule fell into step behind me, his ears twitching lightly to the sounds of the wild birds singing in the woods ahead of us. I sensed nothing dangerous. It was just like the woods outside the Institute, birds, insects, small animals. Nothing that would be dangerous unless they felt threatened. 

We reached the woods, and I allowed my fingers to brush across a tree trunk. The wood was smooth and it smelled good.

Jean and Rahne were doing much better, though they started walking a little weird. They were sore from sitting on Crepuscule's back.

We found a clearing, ringed by bushes and several trees that drooped like willows. It was a very nice spot. 

Rahne and Jean immediately flung themselves down onto the soft dirt and didn't get up. Obviously not flyers, which surprised me about Jean. She could fly. Maybe it was just the way Crepuscule flew. I heard that people can't sail on small ships but can sail on large ships, and the same for planes. 

The light was fading fast, and Crepuscule stood like a sentinel just outside the clearing. I hadn't entered either. I was too busy admiring the oddly patterned bark of one of the willow-like trees. It was diamond shaped bark, almost like a snake. I briefly wondered if it was a snake, but was relieved to find that the tree had no teeth or eyes.

I walked inside the circle. Jean and Rahne were taking stock of our pack. Well, it had been mine, but it was ours now. 

"We need to get into one of those towns, and get more provisions."

"How do we get them? We don't have any money."

I sat down across from them. We had a grand total of six jerky strips left, and three slightly squashed fruit.

I knew this wouldn't last. Teenagers are voracious. 

Crepuscule sat down lengthwise across the outer part of the circle. He kept his ears up and one eye open incase there was anything threatening he needed to deal with.

"Who wants to go without dinner?" Rahne asked. There was a pause, and then both Jean and she raised their hands. They were still looking a little on the green side. 

"Okay, so what about you?" Jean asked, looking at me. I shrugged. 

"I can find food. Besides, Mr. Logan told me the most nutritious thing to eat in a pinch was bugs, and there seem to be quite a few here." I said mischievously. The both had looks of disgust on their faces. "What about you Crepuscule?"

"I do not require food."

"You sure?" I pressed.

"Yes, Lady Danny."

I shrugged. "Okay. We might as well save the food then."

"For emergencies. We should all get some sleep." Jean stretched and packed the food back in the pack. She, Rahne and I all lay down on the soft ground. I hadn't realized I was tired. 

Before I started to drift off, I found myself thinking about Julian and wondering what he was doing. I hope he's having lots of fun. What am I saying? He's with Jamie and Kurt. I should be more worried about their baby-sitter.

But he probably knows. The animals always let me know when something big is happening, or, at least they did when Jared got taken away. They would do the same for Julian about me.

I hope he's not worried.

*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*

Silence. Deafening silence.

It has to be him. That man in the cloak. He's the only one who has that kind of effect on animals that I know of.

I didn't bother trying to wake up Jean or Rahne. Crepuscule was a no go. I had to climb over him to get out of our little clearing.

My bare feet lightly crunched the underbrush as I walked without direction. I let my feet do the walking, though I vaguely realized I was walking back towards the plain.

 What did he want now? I was going off to the North. I was grateful for the tip, really I was. But if it didn't pan out and he was ordering me off somewhere else, I was going to be very displeased.

I stopped at the edge of the woods. The plain stretched out beneath the star studded sky. I looked up and saw in it constellations I saw back home.

"Very interesting." I murmured softly. We all have the same sky.

"Star gazing isn't why I brought you out here." Black fog swirled from nowhere, expanding then dissipating, leaving the robed man.

"Like to make an entrance, don't you?" I asked dryly. This wasn't amazing anymore. It was just annoying. He made me nervous, and I don't like that. 

"When you get to be as old as I am, you must have something to pass the time." He said humorlessly.

"I see. And why did you bring me out here? I'm doing what you told me to do, I'm going North."

"Yes. That is all well and good."

"There's a 'but' in here, I know there is." I said accusingly. He seemed to smile briefly in his body language before he continued.

"But what shall you do after you find the ones you seek in the port towns?"

"I'm going to look for my other friends." I said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Why wouldn't it be?

"That won't be as easy as you think. There's more to this game than you believe."

"This is not a game."

"You are absolutely right. It isn't. And what could happen as a result could affect both of our worlds for the worst, so you'd better listen up, I'm only saying this once."

"Wait! Wait a minute! What is this world stuff?!"

"Listen, human. If you'd shut-up I'd get to it!" He snapped at me. 

I sulked. He didn't have to get nasty.

"There is a very special reason humans were snatched from your world. There is a very powerful being looking for a virgin sacrifice—"

"Virgin sacrifice? Then why'd they take the teachers? Why'd they take Jean and Scott, I thought they were, uh…Okay, I'll shut up."

"Thank the stars. In any case, you must collect the humans brought into this world as soon as possible. There are others looking for them, and the stakes will get higher."

"I'm still trying to twist my mind around the Teachers."

"They were probably going to be someone's next meal. Can we move on?!"

"They were going to EAT my TEACHERS?!" I yelped in disbelief.

"Will you be quiet, child?!"

"I'm sixteen! I'm not a child…"

"You are compared to me. Now be quiet. I'm trying to give you an idea of what's going on outside of your mindset, and you are being difficult."

"Well, if you're so worried about what will happen, why don't you give me a little help then? I'm over here trying to find my friends and the only thing you happen to be doing is giving me cryptic clues! I don't even know your name!"

"Why did they ask me to seek you out? I know this wouldn't have happened with some other human!"

"And who the HELL is THEY?!" I was really yelling now. 

"'They' is more obvious than leave upon trees. You have been speaking with 'they' all your life."

"Animals." I realized. "What are they doing? And how do you know?"

"You think animal speech is that rare of a gift? It might be amongst humans, but amongst those of an older breed it is commonplace." 

His smugness was getting really annoying.

"And besides that point, they have chosen you as their own champion. I can't see why. As for why I can't help, if I did, then the whole situation, which could have been solved by a few simple strokes, will get blown totally out of proportion. As for my name, well, that will remain a mystery. But I did come to say something to you, did I not?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Hold your tongue." He snarled. "I don't have any more time to speak with you. You will learn slowly, as humans usually do, about what is happening. If I told you all now, then you would undoubtedly do something stupid."

I stared at him. "Obviously they didn't tell you a whole lot about me."

"No, more's the pity. If I knew you were going to be a pain in my….I would not have bothered to speak with you. I've only met you twice and you are already a thorn in my side.  In any case, after you reach the port towns, you must go farther North, across the perilous sea. How you do so is not my concern, but I will comment to you that your little servant dragon would never be able to cross that distance. From there, you will not see me for awhile—"

"Gee."

"Yes, I can see your distress." He commented sarcastically. I raised an eyebrow at him but didn't comment.

"As I was saying, you will be on your own. I won't be there to give you 'cryptic clues', so you must live by your wits, may any and all deities help us all…"

"You know, for someone who wants me to go risking my life against a powerful being so he won't start doing some crazy human sacrifices, you are not instilling much self-confidence in me!" I protested.

"I'm not here to help you gain confidence, you should already have that. Stop whining. You humans always do that. However, you should know that as soon as you reach the Northern continents, you will be in danger; they are roaming there."

"And who are they this time?" I said, rolling my eyes. The situation was supposed to be serious, but that wasn't going to stop my prejudiced view that this guy was full of it. 

"They are the Soul King's soldiers. The Demights you have seen are nothing but peasants under his finger. The soldiers are formidable, so I would be more careful of them."

"This is like some really bad fantasy short story that I read in second grade. What's with the name Soul King anyway?"

"He's on an ego trip." He said offhandedly. 

"Well, that makes perfect sense. Hey, if you're all knowing or at least going to act like you are, can you tell me why Crepuscule is calling me Mistress now?"

"Crepuscule is a lifetime servant. He has never learned to live any other way and it's highly unlikely that he ever will. After Esperanza threw him out to follow you, he was lost. Without a master, he doesn't know what to do. Esperanza told him to follow and join you. It's only natural that after awhile he should attach his need of a Master to a person, and most likely he would become attached to the person he had been around the longest."

I hadn't actually expected him to answer that so completely. "So, what you're saying is that Esperanza actually kicked him out, and he's been living his life as a servant, so he needs a Master to feel comfortable, and he choose me because he's known me longer."

"Exactly. But don't feel too inconvenienced. Creatures like him turn out to be ferociously loyal and obedient. You have a remarkable tool at your disposal. Which you should be getting back too. I must go."

"Wait! I have questions."

"Save them, I cannot answer them now." Once again, he disappeared with his showy exit.

I glared at the space he had been. Next time I'm going to find some superglue and glue his robe to the ground so he can't run off when I want to quiz him. Why did he need to run off anyway? What, was he going to miss his favorite show?

"Pain in the…." I grumbled as I started making my way back towards the others. The comforting buzz of the background noise had returned, and I used voices of animals to find my way back.

Something blue flitted out of the corner of my eye. I turned around fast and saw a gaudy blue butterfly floating away on a light breeze. Then, right in front of my eyes, it disappeared.   I blinked and rubbed my eyes, but it didn't come back.

I wondered briefly if I actually saw it.  But here, everything was different, there might be some sort of biological thing going on.

But wasn't that a Morpho?

*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^^**^

A/N 

You know, it strikes me that Danny might be more in awe of that guy, but I can't seem to write it that way. Oh well. I think it's much more interesting this way.

Asteria: Ah, yes. I hope to keep The Morphs Effect on a firm track; I had trouble with Shadow Wars because I lost direction, but I usually keep two different mindsets when writing the two different stories, so I hope to keep them well apart. Glad you like it!

Anon(girl): Heh, Arcane seeing Danny? That may take awhile, but I bet it will be a funny confrontation. I'm sorry you had to wait so long for me to update! But thank you very much!

PrincessOfWildfire: Well, a little bit more about Crepuscule, I hope that helps your craving! I'm glad you like his so much. Desperation? I haven't read that one yet…

Chrissy: Well, I always hear about how different cultures had different views on magic, so I figured it would be a great story device. I don't know if I've read stories like it before…I might have. Well, anyway, I'm glad you like the concept!

Herman shall take the reviews again! And still in his robes…hmm…might have to get those washed, he'll be a stinky bat.


	13. Port Town

A/N

I'm sorry! I got myself caught up in homework and other various things and couldn't update. I love Hamlet and all, but all the homework that came with it was a drag. Then I was writing another story that took me three days to put up, and well, it just took forever to get to this. Again, I apologize.

Altissimo: Very squeaky or high

Altissima: A type of tree.

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"Wow, look at all of those people! Can you guys see this?" Rahne whooped as Crepuscule pulled into a slow descent.

Crepuscule went double time, which was pretty darn fast, to get us all over here. I'm glad we managed to stop so soon, because it was getting to the hottest part of the day and I was worried about our rid. He was black, and with all the energy he was using, he was breaking quite a sweat. He needed to rest.

We landed a few hundred yards away from the town and tumbled and the girls and I jumped from his back. He seemed to sag almost, then straightened up. I patted him on the shoulder and I saw what looked like gratitude flash across his face before he cleared his face of emotion and stood, waiting for an order.

"Well, shall we?" Jean asked. " I'll do a quick mind probe of the area, and see if anyone we know is here."

"Yeah. Hey Crepuscule, why don't you stay here and rest? You'd only draw attention to us in town, and it may be better for us to keep it on the down low, if you know what I mean."

"Lady Danny, anyone in town has already seen me flying here."

"Yes, but they probably didn't get a good look at us. And the less they know about us, probably the better." I shooed him away and he looked a little put out, but he was really too tired to argue. I turned back to the other girls. "Did you find anything, Jean?"

"I…think so. But I'm not really sure."

"You're not sure? Why?" Rahne asked as she stepped on her tippy toes to see as far as she could into town.

"There are a lot of thoughts wandering around in there. I don't know if who I've picked up is actually someone we know or someone who thinks like them. I knew I should have been scheduling more practices with the Professor."

"Oh I'm sure that will help." Rahne said sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" Jean said defensively. I started walking towards the town with them on either side of me. 

"Just because you work really hard will not prepare for being kidnapped by three foot monsters and kicked into another world. The only person that might possibly be prepared for that is Mr. Logan, and I bet even he'd be caught off guard by giant flying deer-dragons and wolves that walk on their hind legs and—"

"I'm sure he got used to you!"

"That's not the point."

"Port Town."

"Hunh?" Jean looked down at me. I once again was reminded of my shorter height and felt a twinge of jealousy. I pointed to the sign I had been reading.

"Port Town. It's the name of the port."

"…How original. Yet simple." Rahne looked at it with me. I tilted my head at it, and wondered if everything in this world would be so blunt.

"Let's go in and start looking!" Jean pushed us both into town. 

It was a big town. Bigger than the city of metal. But it was more rustic. People were running too and fro, but the majority seemed to be big, squat tree-like beings. They were big around and their hair seemed to frazzle out every which way. Most of their bodies were of a dark brown color. The hair color was every color, from purple to gray, red to blue. I tried not to stare, they might take offense, but they were so strange and oddly beautiful that sometimes I couldn't help it. Stopping to stare at a family of these beings, I actually ran into another one, the biggest one I'd ever seen, though that wasn't saying much. 

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said as I looked at him. He was shorter than I was, but he had to be over five times as wide. He puffed up a little.

"Watch yourself, girl, you'll hurt y'self running into a full grown Altissima, not a good idea, not a good idea, t'all." His voice was actually squeaky.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Hurt me? Bwahahahah! You're just a slip of a girl; I've been hurt more by flies. Go on, go shop, do whatever it is y'need, jus' be careful."

"Thank you sir." I nodded and watched him waddle off. I turned to say something to my friends, and realized that they had disappeared. "Figures they'd walk off. Worse than I am." I picked a direction and started walking deeper into the city. They'd find me or I'd find them. Everyone seemed to be pretty nice around here anyway.

*^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^

"SHOOT HIM! KILL THAT DIRTY ROTTEN--OWWW!" Somebody screamed out in pain in the alleyway ahead of me. I stopped walking forward. Walking forward when people are screaming ahead is usually a bad idea.

A man rushed out of the alleyway and tripped, sprawling onto the ground, hurriedly got up, and began dusting himself down. 

He was a young man, with shoulder length (messy) black hair. He fixed a pair of slightly skewed glasses on his nose, and above his nose were a pair of brownish looking eyes. I couldn't tell if they were really brown though. He seemed human, or at least human like, I haven't seen a lot of humans wandering around here, and he was fairly tall. I think he may have been handsome, but his face was all dirty, and his clothes were all messy, so I couldn't tell. 

"GET HIM! HE'S RIGHT THERE!"

"Drat." He had a deep, well-toned voice, and he moved with grace that wasn't unlike Crepuscule's. And he was fast. He was passing me before I even realized what happened. He was wearing black pants, black shirt with what looked like a dark blue vest, and a navy overcoat.

Ahead of me, two large ogreish looking creatures barreled right out of the alley. One of them barreled into a wall, but reversed and turned down the road towards me like he didn't even feel it. Both of them were toting very dangerous looking weapons, that obviously shot people.

Then they BOTH came barreling down the road.

I tried to jump to the side, but didn't quite make it. Luckily, one of the brutes was more than happy to help me along. They quickly disappeared down the road.

"I am really getting tired of bein' kicked around." I muttered as I got up. I rubbed my back as a little shoot of pain ran up it and growled mentally. I started walking down the road in the direction I was going before I was tossed like a rag doll by Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dumber. I had to be careful because the rocks were hard and I still didn't have any shoes on. 

I quickly shoved the man out of my mind. Obviously he had done something to tick somebody off, and I'm sure that the other girls don't want me to get us all into more trouble, which I seem to be adept at doing.

I paused for a moment. Why did that always happen? Am I really stupid or do I have some sort of complex that allows me to recognize stupidity but not stop from doing it? Maybe it's a genetic thing. I know Ray and Roberto do stupid stuff all the time, maybe it's a mutating thing. Or maybe it's a family thing, considering cousin Spike and my Uncle Robbie. Well, they only do stupid stuff when they think there's no way out. Conditioned reflex, maybe?

I shrugged. There was no way to change myself at the moment. I'm sure it takes years to change oneself.

Or maybe not, now that I think about it.

I made sure not to run into any more of the nice plant people. I figured that if some weren't as nice as the one I ran into, I would be in trouble.

Frustrated, I looked around for someone that could give me directions. My eyes fell on a large tomcat sitting in the shade. On a closer look I realized he had spikes down his spine and what looked like glowing ball on the tip of his tail. His fur was the most fascinating shade of black, which seemed to be incredibly shiny. And across his handsome black fur, were swirling circles of blood red.  As I approached, he opened his eyes slowly. They were orange, and flecked with gray. He had to be the most exotic cat I ever came across.

_What may I do for you?_

(I need some directions, if you could be so kind as to dispense them.)

_Do you know where you want to go?_

His voice sounded vaguely amused. He also had a very interesting timbre to his voice, something between warm fire and echoes. 

(Not exactly.) I crouched down next to him. He looked up at me, blinking lazily.

_Then directions I give will give you a direction, hmm?_

His voice was accented by a low purr. I smiled and reached my hand out to his head. His ear flicked forward as I scratched behind it.

(Perhaps. But I'm looking for some friends. They probably smell something like me.)

_Yes. The smell of the Human World._

(I've seen humans around here.) I frowned. He looked at me lazily.

_They aren't called humans here. They are the Transpeople._

(Transpeople?) I grinned.

_Transpeople__ and humans, still the same thing. But you are not quite. And who are you?_

(Danny. Dann for short.)

_Dann__…simple and short, just like the life of flowers._

(How poetic.)

_Poets are for those who have time to be, therefore all felines are poets. _

He got up and stretched, then sat down on his haunches by my side.

_You look for people who smell like the Human World…you should go to the market._

(The market?)

_Yes. There are still those who would pay a pretty penny for a human._

(Slaves?) I felt a cold anger wrench through me.

_Yes. And what shall you do now, that you know your direction?_

(I'm going to free them.) I got up and dusted my shorts off.

_All by yourself?__ That does not seem to bode well for your friends._

(Unless you want to help or have some other suggestion, Mr. Cat, I suggest you keep those comments to yourself. I'm going to do it, you just watch me.)

He looked at me, slowly digesting what I said. Then he seemed to smile. But then again, cats always seem to smile.

_I think it would be interesting to watch, and perhaps, lend a paw._

(That would be great! Thanks a lot. I never got your name, what is it?)

_Red Moon.___

(Cool.) He jumped up onto my shoulders, a pretty good leap, even for a cat, and directed me down the street. He lay down across my shoulders like he was supposed to be there, but I didn't mind. Cats are usually like that.

Red Moon directed me through the streets until I found myself in a large, open square, with hundreds of people. Everyone was either shopping or selling. I saw a few chittering lizard people, but they weren't at all interested in me or the animal sitting on my shoulders.

Speaking of which, he was heavy. Obviously he was a good hunter.

I walked towards the center of the square, where it appeared that there was an auction taking place.

Animals. Furniture. People.

I glowered darkly at the display. There weren't many slaves, but still, one is just too many. 

"Out of the way, girl!" Somebody rudely shoved me aside as he went through. Red Moon yowled and clung to my shirt. I reached a hand up to steady him even as I looked at the person who shoved me. 

He was one of those bird people, decked out in a yellow and red uniform. He walked with a definite swagger, and his beak had been sharpened to a tip. His feathers were a mottled gray, and there was a sort of pompous air that radiated from him.

"Attention all you to be sold. I have an offer that you cannot, and will not, refuse! For service in the Far South's army, you shall be granted freedom after a predetermined period of time. This opportunity shall be accented by the fact that anyone that steps forward now shall be bought by myself while the rest of you will wait in these slime holes until the due sum comes in two days. You now have your choice. Who is willing to serve their army?"

The slaves, all chained in a line, all looked at each other. Then almost all of them raised their hands. I tried to pick out the ones that didn't. There was a young man, about my age, and what seemed to be a large dirty lump.

A large, furry, dirty lump. 

Mr. McCoy. 

"Those I shall buy now. The rest keep on hold for me." The bird man said imperiously to the seller, a grotesque man with half a nose. The seller bowed graciously but showed a scowl when the bird man left the market.

I moved forward through the crowd until I was right next to Mr. McCoy. On the way I passed the young man, who gave Red Moon the oddest of looks but then ignored us. But I swear he kept glancing at me.

"Mr. McCoy!" I hissed. He looked at me, surprised.

"Danielle?"

"Move you lazy beasts!" The seller roared as he tugged on the chains every slave was tied too. 

"Can't you break free?" I asked, trying to keep up with the moving line.

"There's something inhibiting my strength. I'm as weak as a proverbial kitten."

"Whassa matta, girlie? You like him? Mabe you wanna join him, hunh?" The seller leered at me. He was standing right next to me. He was about to clap a hand onto my arm when Red Moon calmly stretched out a paw and sank his claw into the hand. "Gahh!"

He snatched his hand away and gave me a dirty look and kept going. The line had been moving throughout all this, and I realized I lost Mr. McCoy.

(Now what do I do?)

_You know where he is and where he goes to be. He will stay in that place for two days. You have time to devise a plan._

(A cat that gives sound, good advice. I always knew that something here had to make sense.)

_A cat is a cat in any use of the term._ He said smugly. _It is only when that term is applied to a human's understanding that it ceases to be._

(I'll buy that.)

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"We lost her again."

"She can take care of herself, believe me."

"Why are you so sure?" Jean asked worriedly.

"This is the girl who sleeps with live animals in her room and giant spiders in her lamps. She spends half of her time talking to strange animals and bringing dangerous canines home, and if she gets into any real trouble, she'll just call some animals, make a distraction, and hightail it." Rahne said, waving it off. Then she stopped. "I smell something. Let's step into the alley real quick, I'll shift and we can follow the scent."

"How do we know we want to follow the scent?" Jean protested as Rahne dragged her into the alley.

"It smells like vanilla perfume." Rahne morphed and walked out on all fours, nose to the ground.

"Vanilla…Kitty?" Jean followed the younger mutant quickly.

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A/N

I don't know if Kitty wears vanilla perfume, but I imagine it would probably be fitting.

Asteria: I promise to keep at it, no matter how long it takes.

Anon(girl):Heh, yeah gotta watch the language amongst the youngsters. Hope you liked this chapter!

PrincessOfWildfire: Lots of Stephen King books aren't for everyone's tastes. But I like Tommyknockers, or I did, I can't remember any of the storyline now except for evil aliens and possessed townspeople, stuff like that. Anyway, I'm glad you like the robed guy, and I hope you like this chapter!

Arain Rowan: I think we all hope that. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it!

Laureate: Now, if I told you about the mysterious robed man, he'd lose the entire shtick. Anyway, I'm glad to see you reviewing again and I hope you like this chapter! Oh, and Herman thanks you very much for the little sleeping bag!

Herman will take the reviews from his little bat transport.  Cute as well as practical. At least I got him out of those robes…


	14. Common Goals Make Common Allies

A/N

I know, I'm having trouble updating on a regular basis. As soon as I admit I have a problem, I'll be able to help solve it. The thing is, earlier this week I had a band competition (Tch-straight twos, I was hoping for a better rating) ((Still pretty good, though.)), and Thursday through Sunday of next week I will be going on a Spring Trip, and will not be updating for those days and probably a few days afterwards, because I'll be tired but still have to go to school (bummer), but I'll do my best to update my stories at least once before I go, so there isn't that much of a wait, and again, I'm sorry, but the fact is, between band and the last four week homework stretch, I've been totally swamped.

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There was a large cage made of wood sitting in front of an old rundown shop, or at least, I think it was a shop. Mr. McCoy was in it. So was that young man that gave me the funny look, but I wasn't too concerned with him.

Red Moon and I were on a roof. It was hot. I could feel my skin baking. And the fact that Red Moon was sitting on my shoulder still wasn't helping. But I didn't move. I kept scanning my eyes. Except for the few jeering men and a couple drunks, there wasn't a lot of anything. Throughout the entire town it had been nice and airy, with a good bit or leaves and other greenery, but here it was dusty and hot. It made my throat dry just looking at it.

I frowned. There'd be no way to spring Mr. McCoy at this rate.  Too many people. And if rats and Mr. Logan taught me anything, it's that people are bad things.

I noticed a shadow moving all the way on the other side of the clearing, opposite of the cage from myself. I squinted my eyes.

It was the bespectacled man. Except, this time, he was clean and unhurried. He also wasn't walking towards the cage. He was keeping himself mostly hidden in a side street, watching. I studied him carefully. There seemed to be easiness about him, with underlying menace. Something nobody would see if they weren't looking. Then again, if he were so dangerous, he might have been able to fight those ogre things off by himself. Wouldn't surprise me. Things tend not to make sense in new areas.

Of course, he could only have that sense of menace. There were plenty of people that tried to give off the impression that they were big and bad only to be total wimps. And on occasion I could probably be one of them. 

A low rumble caught my attention. Something behind the shop was causing a fuss.

(What is that?) I asked the cat on my shoulder.

_It sounds large. _

(Wanna go see? Waste some time?)

_I suppose so_. He sounded fairly amused by the concept.

I slid backwards on the roof so that no one on the ground would see me. When I was safe, I got up and got down off the roof, by no graceful means necessary. 

I dusted off my shorts and stood still so Red Moon could settle himself and trotted off through the side streets to see what was rumbling.

Ducking through the streets, I finally came across one parallel to the back of the shop.

I poked my head out of the side street.

(What… Is that?)

Red Moon didn't say anything. His ears were flattened against his skull. 

It looked like a giant ball of…snot. It really did. It was green, slimy and oozing. It had to have been twelve feet high.  It was in a cage that it was practically bursting out of, and that didn't look to pleasing either. The cage was made of bars, but they were held together by rope, with several bars going horizontally to keep the other bars in place. Some people were 'watching' it, showing their complete interest by kicking back and downing a brew. 

The rumbling grew louder, and a man sitting with his back against the back wall of the shop threw a rock at it. The rumbling went a different pitch for a moment, then diminished into a soft rumble. 

"What a lovely specimen." Someone commented dryly behind me. I gulped down a yell and whirled around to come face to face with the spectacled man.

I stared. He stared back. Red Moon yawned and showed his obvious lack of interest at the situation. 

I frowned at him. "What's the big idea, sneaking up on me like that, hunh?" 

He ignored my comment and looked past me at the giant snot-ball. Then he looked back at me. "What is a young girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"If I don't get caught, it's no harm no foul." I said guardedly. "Are you going to call those guys?"

"No."

"Well, then we have no reason to bother each other."

"What were you planning on doing just now?"

"What?"

He gestured towards the green ball. I looked at it and shrugged. 

"Nothing." 

He looked at me as if he was searching my eyes for a minute. Then his eyes settled on Red Moon, who was laying full length across my shoulders.

"Where did you get that cat?"

"Why do you want to know?" I countered, trying to figure out how to get away from him.

"Those kinds of cats are extremely dangerous. Their fangs are poisonous."

"And your point is?" I started trying to inch around him.

"And I don't believe that there are very many in this city. They are mostly a high mountain breed, which brings me to my next question…why do you have my good luck charm sitting on you?"

"What?" I was totally confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That cat's name is Red Moon. He's my ship's bringer of good luck. Where did you get that cat?"

I stared at him for a moment, then turned my head to glare at Red Moon. (Why didn't you say you knew him?)

_You didn't ask. _

(Didn't ask…) I shook my head. "I found him, he's been helping me out."

"I see. And what help requires a cat?"

"What good luck requires a cat to bring it?" I mimicked his tone. He looked slightly taken back, and he frowned. 

"Who are you?"

"You first."

"My name is Ivan. I'm the captain of the Black Sun." There was an obvious note of pride in his voice. 

"Red Moon and Black Sun. Nice."

"Thank you. It took me forever to find a ship that fit." He said dryly. "Now it's your turn."

_At least he knows where his real assets are._ Red moon commented lazily.

"Danny. I'm not the leader of anything, just a human."

"I see. And what is your problem that you had to ask Red Moon's help?"

"Why do you want to know?" I said defensively. 

"I find it interesting that a young girl, such as you, can wheedle her way into one of my crew's good graces so easily, when there is no common language other than food, and usually Red Moon is easily refrained from such bribery. So, I have to wonder, what is it that Red Moon finds so…intriguing about you?"

"Uh…" I tried to sift through the question to find a suitable lie. I wasn't entirely sure that telling a strange man called Ivan that I could talk to animals was a decidedly good idea. Nor was the fact that I needed to break my teacher out of jail so he could join me on a quest to save my friends from becoming virgin sacrifices for the Soul King.

No, that would not be a good thing to blurt out. 

"You're not good at formulating lies, are you?" He had his eyebrow arched.

"Not especially."  I said a little weakly.

"I see…" He glanced at Red Moon, then turned his attention to the mucus ball behind me again. "I'd like to ask you something. Obviously, you've been following this little slave train for awhile, because I've been seeing you every so often. I'm guessing you're after someone in that little cage out front. So am I. I'd like to enter a temporary partnership, if you're game."

I crossed my arms. "Go on."

"If you have the means of making a distraction, I have the means of freeing the slaves in the cages."

"And what makes you think I'll trust you?"

"I don't. I'm not stupid enough to think that you would trust me simply because we have a same goal. So, I propose this; we help each other, then we go our separate ways. No attachments, no worries."

I raised my eyebrows at his little proposition. It seemed to be pretty straightforward, very honest.

"Alright, it sounds good." I said slowly. He turned his gaze back to me. I noticed that his eyes were actually purple, but not a startling purple. It was as if someone had added an extra color to brown and somehow made a strangely colored violet. He pushed the glasses up his nose and nodded.

"You know, I believe that large…animal…needs freeing. I'll leave that to you."

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(This is so gross.) I muttered mentally to Red Moon. He didn't answer.

I was lying on my belly trying to undo some of the twine or whatever it was that was holding this cage together. I tried to talk with the thing in the cage, but it wasn't very smart. It was pretty angry though. It wanted to eat some of the guys outside, which were having an interesting problem.

Apparently Red Moon is not only poisonous, he's a shining light. Literally. The little globe on his tail glows, and he can control how bright it gets. He ran through the clearing with it as bright as it would go, which was bright even during the day, which I noticed was beginning to slowly dim. It must be about four.  Anyway, all they saw was the brilliant light bobbing up and down as it went following it's furred counterpart, and it obviously made them nervous, because now they were chasing it. And calling more men to catch it.

They were just like moths, can't keep away from the pretty light.

Ivan wasn't anywhere, at least that I could see. Probably bidng his time. Whoever had the keys probably wouldn't jump outside because people were chasing a pretty light. That's where I came in. People can ignore little balls of light. Usually they can't ignore twelve foot mucus balls.

That sort of thing is just a little noticeable.

The twine unraveled slowly, and I pulled it off. I had one more knot before I got it open enough for it to make a getaway. Or to be more accurate, I could get away before it got out, because I wasn't too sure it really saw me or understood me. And the last thing I want is to be attacked by a large green oozing ball. I'd have nightmares for weeks.

There was a shout of pain as somebody fell over a chair as they were chasing Red Moon. The cat sniggered at them and dashed off to cause more unintentional injury.

The knot had been difficult, but I managed to get it untied. It was only one side of untying, but any sort of slack would help. The cage was tied on four sides, now it wasn't tied at the bottom. 

I grabbed one of the bars and shook it. Immediately the big monster reacted. It slammed against the bars and knocked several of them off, regardless of the holding bars.

"Uh oh." I got up and hauled out of there as it began busting out of the cage. Yells of frustration quickly turned to screams of panic as the giant ball thing broke all of the way out of the cage. Red Moon shut off his tail and tore around the edge of the big ball to hide with me in one of the alleys. I scooped the big cat up in case we needed to make a getaway, though I probably should have let him stay on the ground. But this seemed a little safer. We both looked out at the unfolding spectacle with fascination.

At first, it just stayed there. It was out of it's cage and it just stood there. Then it uncurled and slammed to the ground. I felt the tremor and gripped Red Moon a little tighter. We were both a little jittery. It was no longer a ball. It was a large flat…thing. It still oozed and made itself generally gross looking. Then one side rose up, and a circle of teeth appeared underneath the large body.

How'd I miss that on the first look?!

(Oh man…I'm gonna have nightmares and that thing didn't even attack me.)

_Perhaps we should move to a less noticeable location._

Suddenly spindly legs sprouted out of the giant body and picked up the monster, allowing it to move around easily.

(Yeah…that would be a good idea.) I turned tail and ran down the alley, leaving the monster to its business and hoping it wouldn't decide to chew on me instead.

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What can I say? It was only a matter of time before my AU characters started showing up in this universe's stories, though I know some of you might not like this characterization very much.

Ah, well. Anyway, I'm going to try and devote the next chapter to Jean and Rahne, because obviously they have to be doing something about this time too.

Asteria: Red Moon seems to be well liked. I'm glad you liked the tree people, you were the only one to comment on them. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Aicha: I'm glad you like the cat!

Anon(girl): Did the other ingredient work that I said you might use? Heh, thank you, I was a little worried about the whole concept, but hopefully no one will take great offense. Hope you liked this chapter!

Laureate: Haha, thank you very much, cats are easy to write for. To me, they seem the most easily human of the animal race other than dogs in the way of normal speech. Other than the fact that they're arrogant and usually mysterious. I hope you like the stranger, and don't dislike the fact that he isn't exactly a mutant as he was before. Herman thanks you for the aphids, though he'd like something a bit bigger next time, even though you don't have to hand him gifts.

Herman appears to be holding up a light bulb…he might be pretending to be Red Bat. Anyway, he'll take the reviews!


	15. According to Jean and Rahne

A/N

I'm Back! It took me almost two weeks, but I got back. I know I only said it would take a couple of days to get back on track after I got back, but then I got homework that I wasn't given beforehand, and I got really tired and slept most of Monday away, and then I had to catch up on other stuff, and it's just been a really busy week!  But I'm back, and I'll try to get myself back on track, really I will. 

Embarrassment: Something that happens to everyone at least ONCE in their lives, whether caused by themselves, by someone else, or watching your cousin dancing the funky chicken at Prom. 

Makes me glad I have no cousins near me, in a way.

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Rahne sniffed the air, following the winding scent. Wherever Kitty was at the moment, she was close. She was already picking up some of Kitty's actual scent. 

Rounding a corner with Jean following closely behind, Rahne almost ran straight into one of the odd looking tree people. The person huffed and snorted at her, but she ignored it.

As she kept on padding, unconsciously waving her brown tail, she began to hear an outraged voice. She stopped, almost tripping Jean as she struggled not to fall over her, and pricked her ears to the angry voice. To her wolven ears, the spoken words didn't seem to make sense.

She walked towards the voice, concentrating on the words, trying to translate them from her canine ears into human speech.

"**DDDD**THIEF! **EEEEFFFFHHHH!** **EEEEE**AFTER **IIIIIIIBBBBEEEEEE**!"

A thief? She thought she caught that word, but she wasn't sure. It was hard picking out words. 

Jean placed her hand on her back and she paused and looked back at her. It was obvious Jean wanted to say something. 

Not bothering to move into an alleyway, she shifted halfway into her were form, slightly embarrassed at the fact of her clothes not fitting quite right. She needed to get into something better. 

"That guy was yelling about a thief that ran through a wall. That has to be Kitty! Can you tell where she is?"

"Donnn't Knnorrw." Her voice growled through her teeth. Not only was her throat causing her to snarl and growl, but it was hard to talk through those teeth. 

People, as strangely looking as she knew they thought she was, stopped and stared at the two girls talking. Some of them just walked past her without a second glance, but others gawked.

Apparently wolf people are unique in all places. That other wolf that wanted to be her husband apparently didn't get out much.

"Sniff around for her or something! She can't be far!"

"AIIIIEEEE!"

One of the tree people began screaming so high pitched that Rahne clapped her hands over her ears to take the edge off. It was only made worse by her sensitive hearing.

Jean yelled and pointed at something, but Rahne was too busy trying to plug her ears to look.

 Sounds came out of her before she could stop it. She started howling, if anyone could call it that, at the top of her lungs, trying to drown out the other horrid noise, or at least cause enough noise to get the other people to shut up. 

It worked on Jean. She ran off soon after Rahne started. 

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She had seen Kitty rush through the tree person. Now she had to run to catch up with her. She would have asked Rahne to help. Unfortunately, the younger mutant in question was howling her head off and contributing to the cacophony.

Jean weaved in and out of people, trying to concentrate her mind. She didn't have a chance, even if Cerebro was on her head and she had the Professor's powers, to be able to contact anyone with all of that noise.

/Kitty!/

Her mental voice still wasn't strong enough yet. Looking around, she found she couldn't find a trace of Kitty, even though she was still hearing the loud screams and howling. 

Frowning, she slowed and finally stopped. She took one more glance around, then lifted herself into the air. Witnesses to this feat gasped and pointed. Jean ignored them. She got this sort of reaction all the time back in Bayville.

/KITTY!/

"OWW! Who just yelled in my head?" Kitty's head popped out halfway up a wall in a nearby building.

"Kitty!" She flew towards her.

"Jean! I am like, so glad to see you!" Kitty smiled at her. He clothes were ripped, and her face dirty. "You would not believe the days I've had. First, I ran away from these goblins thing, they were so gross, and then-"

"Save it for later. We have to go. Grab my hand, I'll get Rahne and we can go someplace where people aren't running after you and staring at me!" Jean grabbed Kitty's outstretched hand and pulled her after her. They both floated up into the sky and Jean immediately started calling for Rahne.

/Rahne! Stop howling and get over here, I found Kitty!/

The noise, which had still been audible even from the distance they were, suddenly dipped in intensity. She gave some mental directions to the wolf girl, who apparently found them very useful, as she appeared not three minutes afterward in her full wolf form. 

"Let's blow this popsicle stand! Woohoo!"

"I'm not above accidentally dropping you, Kitty." She warned as she started flying over the buildings to find a quiet place to settle for awhile.

"You're no fun." Kitty pouted, then cheering up and waving to the metamorph following at her dogged* pace.

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"Wow, howling like that took a lot out of me. I'm tired. But hey, Kitty, what were you stealing?"

"I wasn't stealing! I was taking what I needed without paying. Besides, I was hungry and didn't have money."

"It's okay, Kitty," Jean assured her. "We all have to do what we need to. I'm sure a bit of food here and there can be replaced."

"Wow. This must really be serious if you're saying stealing is okay. Oh! I bet you guys are wondering why I'm here. Well, a couple miles out of town, I woke up and these like, freaky little green goblins were carrying me, so I phased out of them and ran away. They didn't run after me, I'm surprised. Anyway, I was like, starving so I started stealing food. I was gonna look for other people, but I didn't, like no anyone, and who's gonna help a girl that's been stealing hunh? I was saving up food to take with me so when I left I would have something to eat, I have an okay stash, some of it's moldy, like, eww! But it's all I could get, I hope you guys know I was gonna make sacrifices for you and—"

"Kitty, we get it. We've been having trouble ourselves. I got chased around by a wolf that wanted me to marry him, and Jean threw robed guys around, and Danny is wandering around here somewhere."

"Danny's here too? How'd that happen? Which group caught her?"

"The details are a little weird. But you should see the new friend she picked up. He's cool."

"HE? As in, male he? Is he cute?"

"Uh…" Jean glanced at the sky. "I don't really think he'd be your type."

"Wow, it's getting pretty dark. Think we should find a hotel? You guys did bring money, right?"

Both Rahne and Jean decided to ignore this question.

"_SNNNNNEEEEEEEKKKKRROOROROOOEWOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"___

"What. Was. That?" Rahne jumped to her feet and looked around frantically. 

"It sounds…"

"Like, a really big something?" Kitty finished Jean's halting sentence.

"Wanna draw straws and see what it is? Loser gets to go first?" Rahne said jokingly, trying to smooth down the raised hairs on her neck.

"We have to find Danny. Whatever that is, she could be in trouble." Jean said, pulling Kitty along as she walked towards the sound.

"Danny can hide better than any of us, and she knows where to run. I don't think she's like, in any real danger." Kitty protested, pulling herself free. "Besides, how much you wanna bet she had a hand in it?"

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A/N

Yes, I know, it's really short, but I wanted to get at least a little something out there, and  I have to confess, it's easier for me to write for Danny than for the other mutants. It'll be something I'll work on in the future.

PrincessOfWildfire: I'm glad you like Ivan, and I know the snot thing was gross, but I figured it would be unexpected, and it is kind of fun to write for.

Asteria: As far as everything is going right now, it's just a 'giant booger' *snurkle* that's pretty descriptive actually, heh. I hope you liked this chapter!

Chaotic Dreamer: Figures as soon as I put out a giant booger monster people would congratulate me on it. Anyway, thank you very much! I like him myself, really. 

Arain Rowan/Arin Ross/Anee: Heh, yes, cats are really cool. A mucus ball monster for yourself, Arain? It might ooze everywhere. I hope you liked this chapter!

Laureate: Oh, good! I know you follow my stories, so I tend to watch your reactions pretty closely. I'm glad you like Ivan too, I like glasses a lot, and he always struck me as sophisticated, so they were a quick addition. Dex? Well, maybe. I have been toying with the idea of giving him a role in my stories, but I don't know how to make it work. Herman thanks you for the spider!

Anon(girl): I'll be working on getting back to the Camping effect. I wanted to update this first. Anyway, I'm glad you recognize Ivan, and I hope you like this chapter, and I'm glad that little substitute worked so well for you!

Herman shall take the reviews, check out his sunglasses! That bulb must be getting pretty bright…


	16. Rescuers Needing Rescueing

A/N

I'm back again, sorry for the long wait again, but I think I may be getting just a bit better, if not much.

Cat: A feline, with natural grace and the ability to make anyone look and feel like an idiot in the best way.

* * *

"This is so not my idea of fun, you know? Your guy better work his end of the deal, I am not getting chased around by that giant booger for nothing."

_You are not getting chased around. It can't see you._

"For something that can't see me it has a remarkable way of running after me." I grumbled as I ducked into another alleyway, trying to use my thinness to lose the rolling ball of snot that just wouldn't leave me alone.

Sure, it had taken out about six people in a mad rush, and caused wide spread panic, but the least it could do was stay away from me. It could destroy the entire slave master ring for all I cared.

Heartless, yes. But I have no pity for people who sell flesh.

Red Moon dug his claws into me as I vaulted over a small fence in a none too graceful fashion and skidded on my knees into one of the main streets. Tree people were scattering all over the place frightened and confused.

Well, until the giant slug like monster barreled through the little gate, then they were quite a bit less confused and more screaming for their lives.

I scrambled to me feet and took off across the street towards the shed of a rundown building. There were several boxes stacked up next to it, and I used them as a boost to clamber onto the top of the roof of the little shed and use that in turn to get onto the roof of the building.

The spindly legs of the monster waved for a second, trying to detect where people were. Not finding any, it scrambled down another alleyway in search of something to destroy.

I really did hope nobody innocent got in the way of that thing.

I brushed the gravel off of my legs. It stung pretty badly. I really needed to learn some grace but somehow 'grace' and 'landing' never seemed to really connect in my mind. Sometimes I wondered if that was something that had to do with my mutant abilities too. Maybe my balance center was off.

Red Moon kept his ears up, straining for sounds he could identify. I looked up at the rapidly darkening sky. Pretty soon it would be night, and I'd need some eyes better than the ones I come with naturally, or I wouldn't be able to find my friends. And I couldn't ask Red to stick around. He needed to go back to Ivan.

Good luck charms. I always heard that cats were considered good luck charms, and really it didn't surprise me. Every time I look into a cat's thought, I am always surprised by the complexity, even if I don't see it at first. Another thing that was, a cat's ability to hide it's true nature. If anything in nature was capable of lies, deceit, and all around trickery, it would have to be felines.

"Hey, can I ask you a favor?" I asked the cat at my shoulder. He looked at me with his wide, innocent eyes. "I'd like you to contact a friend of mine out of town. He's hiding out in a meadow. You really can't miss him, he's big, black, has claws, scales, and fur."

_I will get him, he sounds interesting enough._

I spied some old roofing and what looked like old charcoal over by the edge of the wall. I hastily scrawled out a message, asking Crepuscule to come find me. I figured if he was so well spoken, he probably knew how to read, and assuming he couldn't would probably get me in trouble. Though assuming he could would probably do the same thing, but I chose to ignore that for now.

I rolled the roofing material, which was surprisingly flexible, and tied it with a piece of leather that had come loose from my shorts.

"Take this to my friend, please." Even if he couldn't read, he should be able to smell my scent and know it was from me. Of course, he might then try to take a chunk out of Red Moon if he got the wrong impression, but in my experience, if cats want to make themselves scarce, they will.

Red Moon seized the roll in his mouth and went bounding off after I clarified a few directions for him.

A loud rumbling scream started out not far away. My little emancipated friend was currently slobbering all over another building trying to get its spindly legs onto a guy that was trying to climb onto the roof, like I did. Apparently the slimy monster wasn't all that pleased with him, and was trying a lot harder to get him than he ever tried getting me.

"You're alive."

I choked and sputtered and turn quickly around, twisting my ankle and falling on my face, than sitting up on my knees, I glared at the black haired man that snuck up behind me. When I realized who it was, I rolled my eyes at him. "Don't sound too upset."

"I'm not. And I came to inform you that I have delivered my side of the deal. Oh, and no need to tell me about your side, I can see you pulled it off with flying colors." He remarked with slight amusement, looking over my head towards the slug.

"Yeah, I know." I said with fake enthusiasm. "Where's Mr. McCoy?"

"I just told them to run. Our time together was cut short by a rampaging monster."

"Oops." I said, not at all chagrined.

He rose an eyebrow at me and shook his head. He pushed his glass up his nose thoughtfully, looking over at the monster that was now prowling the street, ignoring man it had chased up a building. "I wonder why they would even want a creature like that."

"Exotic beauty?" I deadpanned as I watched it leave a slime trail in its wake.

He gave a small snort of laughter and turned to leave. "Our alliance is over with. I hope you find your friend well."

"Same to you." I said, turning to watch him leave. I found it interesting the way he seemed to move, as graceful as a cat. I wondered if he weren't part cat, it certainly wouldn't surprise me at this stage—

**BOOM!**

Our entire building shook. I waved my arms, trying to find balance. When I managed to get it back, luck would have it the building shook again. This time I fell straight on my butt.

"Ouch." I glared down at the roof, wondering what could shake this building so much.

"Your friend is attacking us." Ivan said suddenly. I had forgotten he was there. He was currently looking down at something on the ground. I tried to get up but the building rocked again, this time groaning menacingly.

"I think we need to move." I got up fast, unhindered by another rocking blow, and ran straight to the edge of the building where he was. I looked over and saw the giant slug ram it's head into the building again.

**BOOOM!**

"Okay, I hate that thing. I never thought I'd say I hated an animal, but I hate that thing." I glowered at it.

"Do you have a plan?" He asked, still gazing at the monster tearing the building out from under us.

"Oh, yeah, like I'm the big thinker of my group." I said sarcastically. "You think if I had a plan for something like this I wouldn't have used it by now?"

"You usually play it by ear?"

"Something like that."

_You look troubled. _Laughed a familiar feline voice

I glanced up. There, flying gracefully into view, was one of the most welcome sights of my entire life.

"So, if I can get you out of this, will you take me North, to the next continent? Me and my friends." I quickly amended.

"I don't see why I can't get out of this myself." He said defiantly.

It was precisely this moment that the monster got tired of using its head as a battering ram and decided to spit, spit on the building. And the wall starting crumbling like a sandcastle to a wave.

As the roof began to dip I looked over at him. "Have fun saving yourself."

Then I turned and waved my hands to the floating shadow, which plummeted until it was a couple of feet above my head.

"Wait." Ivan was backing up fast as more of the roof dipped. "I've changed my mind."

"Good for you. Crepuscule! Can you lift both of us out of here?"

"Yes." He said, apparently a little miffed that he had to pick up Ivan too. I grabbed Ivan's elbow and pointed at the ropes around Crepuscule's neck.

"Grab one and haul yourself up."

He was surprisingly agile and seated himself easily on Crepuscule's back, right next to the smug Red Moon, who seemed to be enjoying the excitement.

I felt the roof tip away from me, so I made a quick jump and grabbed the ropes around Crepuscule's neck. The roof liquidated away from me and I found myself gripping, with my very injured hands, ropes which were the only thing between me and death by horrible burning death.

I've never been so glad to be flying.

* * *

Well, I know it's a shorter chapter than what you all are used to, but I wanted to update and that seemed like a good place to stop.

Asteria: Well, I hoped that answered your question and your liked the chapter!

PrincessofWildfire: Well, I will never say that I didn't try to write uniquely. I like the phrase, I think it's funny. It's kind of weird though, yes. I hope you like the chapter!

Anon(girl): Hope you managed to get some nutytmeg, and I hope you like this chapter!

Arain Rowan/Arin Ross/Anee: No offense taken, truly. Actually, I thank you for being so honest, because not only does it tell me the things I need to work on, but what I seem to be doing right, And to be absolutely truthful, I love writing for Danny more than anyone else, so I actually have to agree, when it comes to my own writing anyway. I hope you like the chapter!

Asp: I'm glad you think so, and I'd like to thank you for taking the time to review some of my other stories, I'm pleased to know someone new is taking an interest. I hope you like this chapter!

Herman will take the reviews again, but quickly, he has another story to prepare for!


	17. Lost and Found

A/N

Wow! Imagine that, an update at a semi-sane time. I hope you like this chapter, I worked hard on it!

Languid: slow, dull. i.e. languid breezes.

Chopped liver: What a person feels like when ignored or when their accomplishments are ignored.

* * *

I didn't even wait for him to land when I dropped off, blowing on my hands to cool them down.

Any sort of distance flying with a beast and only holding onto the ropes around its neck is far too long.

Ivan climbed down off of Crepuscule, giving him a look that said he clearly didn't enjoy the ride. Red Moon got up, languidly stretched, then jumped onto Ivan's shoulder and sat there smugly.

Crepuscule tapped my shoulder with his nose. "Are you all right?"

"Peachy. Thanks for coming just in the nick of time." I patted his nose. "We need to find the others and Mr. McCoy."

"Who?"

"I'll introduce you later, when I see him. He'll probably be fascinated by you. He's a teacher, by the way."

"I'd hate to interrupt your lovely reunion, but I was hoping to leave by morning." Ivan cut in, straightening his clothing and running a hand through his hair. "If you aren't by my ship by the time I leave, this deal is off."

"That sounds fair." I said calmly. "It shouldn't take too long to find my friends."

"When you find them, head to the docks, you'll see the Black Sun there. Tell the guard you have business with me. I'll be waiting, but only till dawn." He turned on his heel and stalked off, so much like the cat on his shoulder it was scary.

_See you there, Dann._

I winked at the cat. He watched me with half closed eyes, and then turned his attention back to the direction Ivan was going.

I turned back to Crepuscule. "We need to find my friends."

"Do you trust him?" He indicated with a flick of his ears.

"Yes." I said after a moment. "I think he's trustworthy enough. He'll keep his word, which may be to our disadvantage. We have to find them soon. It's already dark."

* * *

This way of flying was much better. The wind was whipping my hair back. I leaned forward to take some of the cold wind off of me, and stretched my thoughts out mentally.

(Hello? Is anyone awake out there? I need some help finding my friends; can I get a little information?)

_What do you want?_

I glanced down to see some dog like animals looking up at me. "Stop, hover here for a sec."

Crepuscule stopped in air, and beat his wings in place.

(I need to find a big furry guy, a girl with red hair--) I stopped. How many people matched those descriptions here? (They smell not of this world.)

_We smell them. They went east, after the screamer._

(Screamer?)

_It screams and spits._

(Never mind, I know what you're talking about now. Thanks a lot guys.)

_Good luck._

I nodded. Turning to Crepuscule, I said, "We have to go back to that monster you rescued me from."

He looked confused but didn't say anything. He leaned down and swung back the way we had come from.

After a few minutes of flight, we passed over a partially decimated part of the city.

"Oops. Hope nobody got hurt."

Crepuscule looked around with his superior vision, trying to pick out one of my friends.

"Danielle!"

I jerked and looked over my shoulder. Crepuscule sensed my movement and turned towards the voice.

Mr. McCoy was hanging off the edge of a roof, waving to me.

"Mr. McCoy!"

Crepuscule pulled a shallow dive and settle a few feet away from the teacher.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would have gone into hiding or something."

"Why would I need to do that? They caught me by surprise the first time, and I don't believe they will be so lucky next time." He sounded amused. "I came to see if you needed help."

"Why would I need help?" I was a little confused.

"There is a large slug attacking buildings. It was natural of me to think of you. I suspect that you are not controlling him."

"I'm not." I decided not to bring up the fact that the idea of controlling animals upsets me, and I don't do it. It didn't matter right then, anyway. "Have you seen the others?"

"That is a fascinating animal…Others?"

"Jean and Rahne. I heard they were over here. Oh, and Crepuscule, this is Mr. McCoy, Mr. McCoy, this is my friend Crepuscule."

"Pleased to meet you." Mr. McCoy greeted courteously. Crepuscule nodded back. "I have not seen either of them. Shall we look together?"

"Yes sir."

Mr. McCoy swung off to the left of the building, and Crepuscule swept right.

"He's very interesting." Crepuscule seemed a little uncertain of himself. I had to laugh.

"It's okay if you don't like him. I know he can be intimidating sometimes, even to really tough guys. Just wait till he starts spouting theory."

"He is very polite."

"Almost to a fault." I said with a laugh. Then something caught my eye.

"No way. I can't believe it. That just screams Kitty."

"Who?"

"Another friend of mine," I said as I gazed at the writhing monster. It was trapped half in, half out of the ground. Obviously some mutant, not naming any names, had tricked the monster into its predicament. Unless, of course, someone else had the power to phase. I probably shouldn't assume. Assumptions only get people into trouble.

We floated over the monster for a second, then left it behind in favor of finding the others.

"Where could they be?" I tried to call some animals, but there weren't any answering. I wasn't really worried. Jean could practically beat someone to a pulp without even touching them, and she and Rahne were together, I was almost positive, and if Kitty was hanging out with them too, well, I was in more danger than they were. And I was sitting on a massive Dragon like creature.

Which brought me to an important question. What exactly was Crepuscule?

"Danny! Down here! Yoohoo!" I looked down in surprise.

There stood Kitty, just like I suspected, jumping up and down happily.

"Is that, like, your new friend?" She yelled, pointing at Crepuscule. Crepuscule leaned down and descended to the ground.

"Yeah. This is Crepuscule. This is Kitty." I gestured to her. Crepuscule bowed his head politely.

"Wow, he's, like, lots cooler looking than that booger I stuck in the ground."

"I had a feeling that was you. I saw Mr. McCoy, have you seen Jean and Rahne?"

"We're supposed to meet up at a building a couple blocks from here. Like, can I catch a ride?"

"You mind, Crepuscule?"

"Not at all." He leaned down gentlemanly and I reached out my arm for Kitty to grab. She hauled herself up behind me. Crepuscule, once we were situated, opened his wings and took flight.

"Okay, go four blocks down…" Kitty began to name off the directions to me. I didn't really pay attention. Crepuscule heard her clearly enough anyway.

I enjoyed the wind. It was cold, and bitter. It was a strange change from the hot day, but natural nonetheless.

A few minutes later, however, I was jarred from my senses when we landed on the roof of a building.

"Kitty! Where were you!? You scared us! And look, we found Mr. McCoy!"

"What am I, chopped liver? I got lost too." I grumbled as I rolled off of Crepuscule's back. Kitty jumped off and started talking a mile a minute about how she jumped on the back of the monster and passed it into the ground while it was running.

"Well, that's great, but we still have to find the others." Jean interrupted. "Now what do we do?"

"Funny you should say that." I grinned innocently.

* * *

Heheh, well, they finally all get back together. Looks like 'smooth sailing' from now on!

PrincessOfWildfire:I love that movie! The Jurassic park movies were so cool. So were the books. Hope you like the chapter!

Raliena: Everyone's peachy. Glad to see you caught Herman! Hope you liked this chapter!

Laureate:Yeah, school ends soon, thank goodness. I don't think I could take another few months of it. Glad you like Ivan and Red Moon. Hope you like this chapter!

Herman will take reviews today, as always. He hopes you had a fun read!


	18. The Black Sun

A/N

Sorry for the no updates, I got swamped in school work again. However, this is the last week of school, so I should be having more updates starting next week, hopefully.

Pitch: The relative acuteness or gravity of a tone, determined by the number of vibrations which produce it; the place of any tone upon a scale of high and low.

* * *

The night air whipped through my hair as Kitty and Rahne sat behind me, the former clinging tightly to my shoulders, afraid of falling. Crepuscule wasn't even flying quickly. I made him slow down so Jean and Mr. McCoy could keep up with us.

"Are we like, there yet?"

I felt Crepuscule wince. Kitty had that effect on some animals. Her voice was just a little bit above a comfortable pitch. He'd get used to it, they all did, but it would take a little time.

"Soon. We just have to find the docks and the Black Sun." I said, staring straight ahead. I have a normal person's night sight, so trying to look around would be futile. It would be better just to leave it to the scaled creature that was chauffeuring us.

To say that it hadn't taken a little bit of convincing on my part to get the others to come with me wouldn't be true. The story had been met with raised eyebrows and the assorted snorts of disbelief. They had all been a little apprehensive about jumping onto a ship with a complete stranger, of which only I and Crepuscule had truly met. Mr. McCoy had said that in the commotion he had not seen the man I spoke of but for a few seconds, and didn't know what to make of him. Jean had been the biggest objector, bringing up the fact that I didn't even really know the guy, and I just knew his cat. I tried to counter that pets resemble their owners, but then realized that wouldn't be the best argument.

Maybe I do need to work on my people skills more.

Instead, I countered with the fact that we were all mutants with special training, and this was the best chance to take a ride across the sea. Jean asked me why I was so eager to go, and I found myself a little tongue tied, so I lied and told her I sensed someone over there. I didn't say who.

When it all comes apart at the seams, which I know it will, I'm going to have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.

Just once I want to go on a trip and come back and explain the wholesome activities my group did, not explain how I managed to get everyone in trouble or why I keep bringing home bigger and badder monsters.

If I do bring Crepuscule home, I have no idea what I'm going to tell the Professor. No, scratch that. I won't have to tell the Professor anything because Mr. Logan will kill me for bringing him home.

But that was still far away. I'd cross or burn those bridges, take cover under the bridge, go around the bridge, walk the other way entirely…the point is I'd deal with the bridge when I came to it.

"The docks." Crepuscule's voice jarred me back from my thoughts. I heard the sound of gently breaking surf below.

"Alright! Let's get down there." I leaned back as he pulled a sharp incline and dove down to the wooden docks. Kitty screeched and dug her fingers in. Crepuscule jolted a little and almost growled, but landed flawlessly nonetheless.

"Can you tell him not to do stuff like that?" She hissed into my ear. I shrugged.

"He's the pilot, not me."

Mr. McCoy, who had been swinging and jumping on the rooftops behind us, landed easily by Crepuscule's side. Crepuscule turned his head slightly so he could watch Mr. McCoy out of the corner of his eye, but didn't shy away. Jean landed a few feet ahead of us.

"Let's spread out and find the Black Sun."

_Why spread out when they can follow?_

"We have a guide." I said before she could start tossing out orders. She looked at me puzzled until I pointed at the cat melting out of the shadows.

"Oh wow, that cat looks so cool!" Rahne exclaimed from behind Kitty. I rolled off of Crepuscule's back to go squat by Red Moon.

_Is this everyone?_

(Yes. Sorry for making you wait.)

_You still have time, a few hours. Now we go?_

(After you, my cat friend.)

He trotted off easily and I gestured for my friends to follow me. I ignored the looks of 'you have to be kidding me'. I get that enough to push it aside.

Crepuscule followed me immediately, much to the discomfort of Kitty who squealed and fell through him to run to Mr. McCoy. Crepuscule didn't take that too well and glared at her, which didn't give her any peace of mind. Rahne just sat on his back as if it was all good, and nothing was out of the ordinary, which considering our situation, wasn't.

Red Moon took us past several ships in the harbor, stopping at what looked like a massive shadow. On closer inspection I discovered it was a black ship, with its sails neatly folded on the deck.

"Who's there?" A young man, no the young man, the same man I saw in the chains with Mr. McCoy stood guard on the ship, looking at me.

"Gregory, good to meet you again." Mr. McCoy said, walking up behind me.

"Hank? What are you doing here?" He scratched the back of his blonde head and looked down at us.

"Apparently we need to have a word with your Captain."

"The Captain? What for?"

"Captain Ivan made me a deal that stated he would take my friends and me to the Northern continent." I said confidently as Red Moon curled himself around my legs.

"I'll have to speak with the Captain to verify."

"Please do so." Mr. McCoy said pleasantly.

Red Moon sniffed some of Mr. McCoy's fur as we waited, always curious.

_He smells of your world but never have I seen such a creature come from it._

(He's like me. A mutant.)

_A mutant he may be, but like you, he is not. Does he speak with the gift of the bestial tongue? _

(Well, no, but he's really strong and really smart.)

Red Moon gave me a withering look as if I was missing the point. I didn't really understand the point. No, he and I weren't the same. We were all different. That didn't mean that we were any better than the other. The animals, I know, only like me because I take the time to understand them. They'd treat other people the same way if we all spoke with the 'gift of bestial tongues'.

"You got here before dawn. I'm glad I didn't make any bets with my crew." Ivan was standing above us all, having shed his vest and calmly adjusting his glasses. "I suppose now my part of the bargain must be honored."

"I suppose so." I returned just as evenly.

"Throw them a rope. Get them stowed before dawn Mr. Warrents." He turned on his heel, leaving Gregory to take us in.

"Hey, what kind of ship is this anyway?" Kitty asked as we began to board.

"I cannot believe this is happening." Jean groaned beside me as she set down her bucket.

I should have been far more precise in my wording. But then again, I don't mind earning my keep all that much. Ivan Korzenki, or rather, Captain Korzenki, had placed upon us the responsibility of keeping his ship clean.

Ah well, if it got us across the sea I wasn't too worried. I was more worried about Crepuscule, who seemed to be seasick, and lying out on the deck.

The sails of the Black Sun were a bright gold, which gave the ship an eerie, out of this world sort of look. The wind was behind us, and the ship was skimming across the waves so fast I could hear murmurs of protest from the fish that had to move out of the way.

It was fantastic, watching the ocean move, just a couple of hours after dawn and already the water was alive with the marine animals of the day.

"Scrub, animal girl." Rahne bumped me. Immediately I started cleaning a spot of deck with her, rolling my eyes.

They would probably hold this over my head forever, but it didn't really matter.

Just as long as we were moving forward.

* * *

Well, it took me awhile to update, but I hope you all liked it.

Asteria: Well, hopefully you won't have to wait long.

PtincessOfWildfire: I always liked the raptors too, but I also liked the diloposaurus, the spitting dinosaur. I thought she looked really cool. Hope you liked this chapter!

asp: Yep, everyone should have the opportunity to beat monsters in their own special way, and Kitty got her chance! Glad you liked the last chapter, hope you liked this one too!

Anon(girl) : What can we say? It happens, no? Anyway, glad to see you back reviewing, hope you like this chapter as much as the others, and congrats on finally ditchin' the dudes.

Herman will take the reviews yet again, before he takes off to give his answer to Julian!


	19. Deep Trench and Living Coral

A/N

Well, I said I'd be updating on a more regular basis and I'm finally managing it! Hopefully I can start up the Comments story again, I have a half written chapter I need to finish…

Jellyfish: Any of numerous usually free-swimming marine coelenterates of the class Scyphozoa, characteristically having a gelatinous, tentacled, often bell-shaped medusoid stage as the dominant phase of its life cycle.

* * *

"You can see all the stars from here, it is so cool!" Kitty said happily as she sat on the deck next to me. I had been checking on Crepuscule, who was still showing his general dislike of sailing. Now I was sitting on the very clean deck and staring up with Kitty. Jean and Rahne were over by the railing, watching the water pass. Mr. McCoy was quizzing Mr. Warrents, as Ivan had dubbed the young man. Gregory was actually an alright guy. He knew a lot about ship and sailing, but didn't seem to know about fighting all that much.

Ivan was standing by the wheel, sometimes glancing up to check the stars before making an adjustment. The rest of his crew were mixed and matched, a few big, furry dog like beings that spent their time tying things down, for what I didn't know. I tried to ask Red Moon, but he didn't answer me straight.

Cats.

"So, what do we do after we get off this, like, canoe?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to call this ship a canoe."

There were beings who flew, several of which were bug like, the others were the bird people. Some of the little lizard people popped out of trapdoors on the deck and rushed about doing whatever it was that they did.

But mostly there were humans, at least, transpeople. They outnumbered all of the other guys two to one, I think. Most of them were men, but every once in awhile I'd spot a few women, carrying rope to give to the dog men or doing other tasks. It surprised me that they were working so hard when it was a few hours after sundown.

"I wonder what they're all so busy for."

"Maybe that's just how it works on ships."

"I don't think so Ki—" I looked down. Something was moving under us. Under the ship.

"Hello, earth to Danny…Danny?"

"There's something really big moving underneath us."

She gasped and put her hands to her mouth and started to turn white. I thought she was being a little overdramatic.

"Don't worry, if you don't say anything to upset the crew or anyone else, then we probably won't have to worry. It doesn't seem all that interested in us anyway."

"Why not tell the crew?" She whispered.

"You reacted the way you did and you ask me that question? Kitty, the one thing all things have in common, animals, humans, plants, whatever, is they all tend to react badly to things that are bigger than they are and possibly unknown to them."

"Oh."

"Besides, we have something else to deal with right now." I looked out towards the front of the ship where I was hearing complaining murmurs.

"What?"

"There is a huge trench right in front of us. All of the water is rushing in."

"What?!" She bolted up to the front of the ship. "There's a huge hole in the water!"

"Nah, it's just in the ocean floor. Nothin' to worry about." On of the dog men finished tying something down. "Might wanna hold onto something though."

So that's what they were doing. Of course they would know that this trench was here, they'd been sailing around long enough to be able to notice if a big honking trench was sucking down the ocean. It would be a little hard to miss.

Of course, now that I knew what they had all been doing, I didn't know what they planned to do about the fact that the ship was still heading toward the trench, and it was looking really forbidding.

I got up and went over to the wheel.

"You do have something up your sleeve for all this, don't you?" I asked. He just allowed a small smile. "Are you smiling because you realized that you may die soon or are you trying to psyche me out?"

"I assure you, I have everything under control. Of course, there is no guarantee that we may get out of this alive."

"Oh, great. I'm so glad you decided to instill confidence of your abilities in me."

"Now, what's the point of being a gentleman of fortune if everything's a sure thing?" He said as he made a few adjustments to the wheel. The trench was closing. "Mr. Geris, swing out the wings, full speed ahead."

"Aye sir!" Another of the dog men yelled. This one lifted a trapdoor and pulled the lever underneath.

There was a groaning sound, then splitting out of the sides of the ship came fans, golden, just like the sails.

I stared at them for a moment. "That's very nice. So…I take it you want to glide down the trench?"

"We're going over it."

"How exactly are you going to do that? I don't see how you're going to accomplish it."

"That's why I'm the Captain and you're a cabin girl." He said. "All hands brace for impact."

"Just going to let that last comment slide…" I said to myself as I watched us come almost to the lip of the trench.

I barely had time to grab the railing beside the wheel as the ship tipped over the side and dove nose first into the descending water.

"Oh crap." Were the first words out of my mouth when the water bottom started to get closer, all of a sudden this blast of white air exploded upwards, catching the fans of the ship and bearing us all upwards. The ship shook uncontrollably as it shot upwards. I saw Crepuscule beating his wings, trying to get a bearing.

"Okay, I'll admit, this is something different." I said over the water spray that accompanied the steam cloud.

"I know. I thought the same thing when I first discovered it."

"You mean you did this before without knowing there was steam to push you back up?"

"Yes, but that was more of a miscalculation."

"Miscalculation…good to know you have everything well in hand."

"You say that, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone half as good as I am." He said, turning the wheel. It caused the entire ship to lean to the side, like a very large, very clumsy bird. The ship passed the lip of the trench and kept going up.

"How high will we go?"

"Don't know. Higher the better, it isn't exactly feather weight we have on this ship."

"What do you have on this ship?"

"What most men in my business would."

I had a pretty good feeling he wasn't just some simple merchant. Pirate was more like it. But if he wouldn't admit it outright, that was fine with me.

I looked out towards the sea and saw a large gray shadow moving underneath the water on the side of the trench we had just come from. It was beyond huge. I'm glad I didn't say anything. If anyone had upset that animal, it could have chewed up and spat out this ship without breaking a sweat.

"I haven't seen one that big in years." Ivan looked over at the spot where I had been looking.

"What is it?"

"Living coral. At least that's what the magical chroniclers call them. It's actually a very big jellyfish. The entire top of its body is coral; it acts as a natural armor to its very soft underside. Of course, it still is very poisonous."

"Good to know."

"Yes. There are many dangers in the sea. Thankfully we bypassed that one. Those creatures are known to latch onto ships that bother them and drag them under."

Well, now I AM glad I didn't say anything. I would have only made it worse.

The ship stopped going up about a thousand feet above the trench. Ivan spun the wheel and the ship immediately started sailing for the opposite side.

Jean and Rahne were at the railing once again, after clinging to the mast so they wouldn't fall off. They were watching with wonder as the sea slowly rose to meet the ship again. Mr. McCoy was helping tie some things down that had gotten loose. Kitty was wobbling and clinging to the rail. It looked like she was ready to toss her cookies.

And Crepuscule…well, if it weren't for the fact that his eyes were open I'd have said he'd fainted. He was sprawled out on the deck.

"So after we get back on solid ocean…how long will it take to get to the north continent?"

"A few days, at least. It all depends on how much wind backs us."

"No motors?" I find it hard to believe this place is stuck back in the seventeen hundreds.

"We do, but unfortunately it's being fixed. A run in with the southern armada does that."

"The ENTIRE armada?" I said in disbelief. "How many ships?"

There was a slight bump as the ship landed in the water and shook loose of the current.

"A couple hundred."

"Just that many?"

"It's been a slow week." He said calmly.

"Oh. Well, that's good to know." I said a little uncertainly. This would have to be one of the most eventful trips I've ever taken.

And certainly the most eventful on water.

* * *

Ah yes, certainly eventful.

PrincessOfWildfire: Yes, he is evil. Ooh, I like varnishing. I'm not so good with paint, I get it all over me. Dahkened gates? Interesting. No, I don't mind. Is it a story? Will you put it up? If so, I wouldn't mind reading it. I always liked castles.

Asteria: Thank you very much, and I hope you like the chapter!

Raliena: Well, not in this story, but I did update his story. Herman says hi!

Anon(girl): I can tell, you seem much happier now that they're gone. Hope you liked the chapter!

Herman shall take the reviews again! Wow, this flying between stories is going to tire him out!


	20. Cryers

A/N

Wow, the updates just flow smoothly, don't they? Amazing what no school can do for someone. Meant to get this up yesterday, but couldn't find a good place to stop.

Orca: predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas

* * *

"How come they come so close to her?" Complained a lady with an eye patch over her left eye. Tulia, I think her name was. She was leaning over the side of the platform I, Rahne, and Jean were sitting on, trying to touch one of the large marine animals that kept rushing to the edge and back again, playing games. The platform itself was precariously hung over the side of the ship, but no one seemed all that worried.

Tulia shook her head and sat back up. She had a braid of blond hair that was down past her soldier blades. "What is with you?"

"Animal magnetism?" I joked as one of the creature surged forward. I was dangling my feet in the water and it bumped my ankle with its nose before it tore off to do a lap around the ship before it came back.

They were beautiful, dipping into the water only to shoot back out almost thirty feet into the air. They were like dolphins almost, but they were the size of small orcas. Their bodies were entirely white, but that's only if I looked from a certain angle. A few inches to the side and they were every color under the sun, all at the same time, like a living rainbow with fins. And the fins, they were just as strange. They spread out behind the creatures like curtains blowing in the breeze, but there was nothing flimsy about them. They were flexible and strong, and I found it incredible how little they had to use them in order to leap out of the water.

Another one of them swam forward to bump my leg. Her nose was just like the pictures of bottlenose dolphins I've seen.

_Come Swim._

(I can't. I don't want to slow this ship down.)

_Bah. We can go faster than any stupid ship_. She said cockily lifting her tail out of the water and slapping it down, drenching Tulia.

"Hey! That's unwanted aquatic contact!" She shook her head, getting Jean in the face with a splash of water.

"Hey! Watch it!" she protested, wiping water from her eyes.

The dolphin-like creature actually started laughing, a continuous squeaky sound from her mouth.

"Good to know someone else finds this funny." Rahne giggled.

"They're kinda cute. What are they called?" Kitty asked as she and Mr. McCoy leaned over the railing above us to look at the bunch of animals circling the ship.

Tulia scratched her head. "They have scholars that make long names for these things, but we just call them the Cryers."

"Why are they called Cryers?" Jean wrung some water out of her hair.

"'Cause late at night, when you barely expect it, they make these noises, sounds like a person crying. Broken heart and all. There are hundreds of creepy stories that pop up from these little fellas."

_Come Swim! Look, the water is bright and clear!_

I smiled at her as she happily did a barrel roll, somehow keeping perfect pace with the moving platform at the same time.

"Wow. Hey, can I pet him?" Jean reached out a hand and stopped leveling an eyebrow at me. But it could just as easily be said she was looking at Tulia.

"Go ahead. I haven't heard any stories about them chewing up people like us." Tulia said.

Jean let her hand waver for a minute before I gave her a discreet wink. Then she leaned her hand down and caressed the nose of the animal.

She let Jean touch her nose for a few seconds then snorted and went under the water. She obviously didn't care that much for human contact.

_Smells weird._ She grumbled under the water. It gave her an oddly fluid tone.

"Guess he likes you about as much as me." Tulia commented.

_Stupid person, can't tell a girl from a boy. How does she even find a mate like that?!_

I choked down laughter, and Rahne gave me a weird look. I think she knew I wasn't laughing at Tulia's remark.

**WHHUUMP!**

The platform rocked violently and I tumbled off into the water. The transition from black ship, clear water, and fluffy clouds changed drastically into intense blue and rushing, tiny bubbles.

Out of complete reflex and instinct, I started to struggle against the water. Then I realized what I was doing and fell limp. My thrashing caused bubbles. Bubbles obscured my vision. If I started trying to reach air now, I'd never find it.

Hard to believe a day and a night ago, I was wondering how I was going to survive a giant trench in the ocean, now I was trying to survive the ocean, though it really wasn't that bad. If I was in real trouble, I could just call for help.

Speaking of which…

The curious female swam up to me and bumped me in the shoulder with her nose.

_Glad to see you made it to the water. Isn't it nice_? She asked mischievously.

(You…You hit the platform on purpose!)

_Yeah. Wanna play tag?_

(No, I want to go back up to the surface and tell my friends I'm okay, then I'll see about playing tag.) I scolded her. (I can't believe you did that. You've probably scared my friends to death!)

_They need a little excitement in their lives anyway._ She said disdainfully. Then she swam behind me and pushed her nose into the small of my back, pushing me back to the surface, which was good, because I was beginning to run out of air.

Of course, she wasn't beyond having her little bit of fun.

She sped up, way too fast, and torpedoed us both fully out of the water.

I barely got to glance at Mr. McCoy's very surprised face before I, after a quick breath, was introduced face first back into the water.

(OWW!) I yelped. She veered off, surprised by the intensity of my thoughts, but same back again.

_That was fun! Let's do it again!_

(What happened to tag?)

_You can't keep up with me anyway. Let's do it again!_

(Let's not, I'm running out of air again.)

_All the more reason!_ She said triumphantly as she started moving towards me.

(No, wait! I can find it myself--)

It hit fast, almost unnoticeable, but I felt it. A wall of invisible…something. Power perhaps? Immediately all of the voices in the sea and their bubbly tones ceased. The large female stopped trying to come for me and froze, as if she had been paralyzed.

_What was that? That was not supposed to be here._ She whispered.

Another one, just as indiscernible as the last passed us by again. Now the voices started up again, at a frightened pitch. All were confused, all upset.

Except for one.

He was old, and gray. He came up right underneath me. He was another one of the Cryers, but he must have been a quite a few years ahead of the rest. He had a massive pair of tusk like horns protruding out of the sides of his face.

_The world reacts to the build of magic._

(Magic?)

_The same that brought your friends to this world.__ The magic builds, and affects the world around it. First come the water, which is more sensitive to change in magical aura than any else._

(Tell me more.)

_This is just the beginning. _

(Of what?)

_The end.__ Or new beginnings. It will be the end for many, and a new dawn for another, the one who controls this power._

(But why?)

_Why else? _He sounded amused. _Power.__ Uncontrollable power. But more, it is not my luxury to know. You will find out soon enough. But to go to such lengths to bring so many from one world into the next…the consequences will be dire._

(Oh…For the sake of asking, how dire?)

_Very._

Another wall hit, almost unnoticeable again. The voices quieted to a deep, upset murmur.

_It will get worse, as the power grows and begins to affect other parts of the world._

(How can I stop it?) I asked before I could stop myself. Must be the whole 'Champion' thing kicking in.

_I don't know. You will have to discover that on your own, if indeed there is something you can do. _

(Okay.)

_Though, I believe that if you stay down here much longer, there shall be naught you can do. You begin to turn as blue as the sky above._

That's when I realized that I was indeed running out of air. I tried to figure out where the surface was but couldn't seem to locate it. Then my bare feet came in contact with smooth skin and I was borne up, not with the shocking intensity of a leap, but with the gentleness of simply resurfacing.

"Danny! Are you alright?!" Mr. McCoy's voice met my ears as soon as my head broke the surface. I didn't answer; I was trying to catch my breath. It hurt to breathe again after going so long without air. I was trying to steady myself on the back of the large gray Cryer as he kept steady pace with the large black ship. The female that had been playing with me swam alongside, worried about me. I shook the light headedness off and looked up. We were right at the side of the ship, so it wasn't surprising too see Mr. McCoy's worried face right above me.

The platform was gone, obviously hauled back up after the female rammed it. They might have thought it was something more dangerous than an excitable Cryer.

"Are you all right?" He asked again. I nodded and tried to gulp down some more air.

"How the hell is she doing that? They hate all of us, and love her. What is up with that?" The voice that I think was Tulia's spoke up. I had to grin. Never before had someone complained so much about my mutation. Then again, I didn't really try to make it knowledge outside of my own circle of friends, though sometimes it did get out. Only Ivan and Gregory had gotten any hint that we weren't ordinary, and they didn't seem to be spreading the news. Not yet, anyway.

"She's just like that, I guess." Kitty said in a jittery voice.

Mr. McCoy climbed down the side of the ship and offered me a hand.

_You had better go, we move to leave_. The gray male told me.

I reached up my hand and grabbed his wrist. He pulled me up.

_See you later, mind-talker, when you come back, we'll play tag. _The female beat her tail into the water and dove down.

(Bye.)

The big gray said nothing and disappeared into the depths. Mr. McCoy hauled me up onto the deck.

"Are you alright?" He asked again.

"I'm…fine. The female was just a little…fun loving, I guess."

"Where'd all the Cryers go? They were here, now they've disappeared into thin air!" A crewman looked over the edge of the ship. Another joined him.

"Maybe those tales about Cryers are partially true hunh?"

"Nah, couldn't be. They're just big fish. Wonder what scared 'em off though." The first one wondered.

Mr. McCoy looked at me as I tried to ring my hair out. "Do you know why they're leaving?"

"Bad auras," was all I said.

* * *

A little longer than usual!

PrincessOfWildfire: No, I've never read that. What's it about? Heh, Thank you, I have lots of imagination, and sometimes it gets me into trouble because I pay attention more to it than something I should be watching. Ah well. Hope you like this chapter!

Asteria: Thank you very much, I intend for it only to get better.

Anon(girl): Glad you liked it! Hope I updated soon enough for you!

Raliena: Herman to a spar…no, I never thought of that. Glad you liked the last chapter, hope you like this one too!

asp: Heh, glad you like him. Hope you like this chapter too!

Herman sits in his little makeshift crows nest to take the reviews!


	21. The North Continent

A/N: Updates still going well. Wanted to get this up yesterday, but had to work and I wasn't quite finished.

* * *

I frowned, watching the horizon as it turned so many different colors. I think Mr. McCoy suspected, no, knew I was holding back information. But how do I tell some people I've known for more than half a year that I knew exactly what was happening, or rather, a whole heap more than they did, and that if we didn't move fast one of our group was going to become a virgin sacrifice for the 'Soul king' and that was somehow going to royally screw up the world as we knew it?

Very carefully, I think.

A lot of things were just so confusing. Okay, the motives for the bad guy weren't that hard to figure out. If I were Mr. Logan, I would have jumped from point A straight to point W and went to go take out the bad guy. But as it is, I'm not, so going off to go beat up a guy isn't really an option. And what about the hooded man with no name? What exactly did he have to gain? And what about this magic build up? What would it end up doing left unchecked? If a little invisible wall that sails across the ocean is just the beginning, what's the next step?

My head was beginning to hurt. I closed my eyes for a moment and let my mind wander out. The background noise was there, but no one stood out to answer. They were still afraid of something they, and I, didn't fully understand.

I spent most of the day dodging Mr. McCoy, who was trying to corner me into telling him what I knew. Now I know how Kurt and Bobby feel after they know they've done something wrong, but don't want to tell anyone just yet.  
Ah well. The truth, whether I wanted it to or not, would come out sooner or later. Besides, once we got onto dry land, I'd be able to pinpoint more of my friends, and maybe that would throw him off.

But once I get all of my friends, what was I going to do with them? It's not exactly smart to run around with a bunch of otherworld mutants in a large group, especially if someone wants to sacrifice them.

Not smart at all.

_Thinking deep thoughts?_ His voice purred into my mind.

(Sort of. And you?)

_A cat's thoughts are always deep, no matter what anyone says. What is your problem?_

(I'm confused. I know things, but none of them make any sense. And it doesn't get any easier.)

_Who told you it would?_

(I see your point. So what do you know about everything that's happening?)

_I know that magic builds and the carriers grow agitated._

My eyes snapped open and I looked down at the cat curled around my ankles.

(Carriers?)

_The carriers of magic, of course.__ You don't think it moves through this world on it's own, do you?_

(I don't know anything about this world.)

_Of course you do. You're just not skilled enough to access the knowledge._

(Alright, what is that supposed to mean?)

_You'll see._

(I should have known better than trying to get a straight answer out of a cat.)

He twitched his ears but said nothing. I tried again.

(What are the carriers? What do they look like?)

_They are in every world, yet overlooked by all._

I rose an eyebrow at him. (Flies?)

_Close, but not quite. You'll figure it out._

(I hate getting confused.)

_All humans say that but they're confused everyday._

(And you only contribute to the problem.)

_Yes. You should get to sleep. We will reach the North continent in the morning._

(How do you know? Ivan said it would be several days at least, and we're going slow.)

_Yes, but he did not count on true magic lending a helping claw._

(What do you mean?) I asked. (True magic? What is that?)

_Humans and other creatures only cater to a watered down form of the magic that runs through the world. True magic belongs to the old ones._

(Who are the old ones?)

_They are beings, and they are old. Honestly!_

(Gee, that helps.)

_Go to sleep. It won't happen while you are awake._

I turned hopelessly in the direction of the quarters where all of the mutants were cramped. (You make it sound like Santa is coming.)

_Who?_

(Never mind.)

* * *

I awoke to the hushed voices of thre crew outside the door. That, and Jean's snoring. Delicate flower my—

"It's some sort of powerful magic. One of the guards said he saw the sea rise up and take the form of the White Sea Guardian!"

"That's just a myth, it's been proven."

"A proven myth? Don't you know that the guardians can change their shape, become hideous beasts or beautiful maidens? Don't you think they could hide themselves?"

It sounded like three crewmembers outside the door. All of them sounded like three girls at a slumber party trading gossip.

"I bet it has something to do with those kids we brought aboard, I tell you, they aren't natural…"

"And what do you know about natural?" Another snorted. "You think it's unnatural if it proves to be smarter than you!"

"Then the whole crew must be the strangest thing you've ever seen!" The third voice chuckled.

"Don't make me show you—"

"Clam down there." A loud voice boomed. I jumped slightly.

The voices immediately quieted and a second later, a loud knock sounded on the door, waking up the rest of the mutants.

"Ow, I slept on my arm." Kitty mumbled, still half-asleep.

I got up and opened the door, and I had to look up at the large Dog man that stood in front of me.

"Yes?"

"The Captain says we will be docking in the hour, and he advises you to be up and awake on the deck."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He dipped his muzzle and strode off, tail swishing as he moved.

I closed the door. Our quarters were below deck, and cramped beyond belief.

"We're at the North Continent, we need to get up to the deck to get off the ship." I told the others. Immediately there was a flurry of activity and I barely got the door open again before Rahne and Jean tore out of it.

I quickly followed so Mr. McCoy wouldn't catch me. I didn't want to get collared into answering questions.

Kitty and Mr. McCoy followed me as I climbed up the ladder to the deck above. I took a deep breath of air and started over to Crepuscule, who had been sleeping on the deck all night. He seemed deep in thought.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Lady Danny. I was just…thinking." He got up onto all four legs and pointed his nose towards the large, forested woods. "I have not visited these woods. We will be walking blind."

"Not if you keep your eyes open!" I said cheerfully. "Besides, what are you worried about? You have all of us." I patted him on the shoulder.

"Danny." Ivan beckoned me over. I left Crepuscule and walked over to him.

"There's no way I can dock this ship close to this part of the continent. You'll have to swim."

"Alright."

"Do you have any idea about what happened last night?"

"Not really, but I have an inkling of something."

"I don't suppose you can tell me?"

"I don't know much about it myself right now. When I figure it out, I'll see if I can't fill you in."

"That would be appreciated."

"Well, it's been fun. Have fun going wherever it is you're going."

"Same to you." He said with the ghost of a smile. "Good luck."

* * *

I stepped into the shadows of the forest. Day immediately turned into dusk, as the trees shaded the forest floor from the light. Whispers betrayed the illusion of total silence, but those whispers were the kind only I could hear.

I'm sure to my friends and to Crepuscule it was a creepy place, they not being able to hear anything in the dark forest.

Even our steps were muffled by the strange gray moss that covered the floor of the forest.

"The flora is very strange in this forest. They all seem to point one way." Mr. McCoy said as he examined the large star shaped blue flower. It faced back the way we came. All of the flowers were the same kind, all looking out, back to the water. And they all were winding around the trees.

Except for one. One had a couple more points than the other flowers. It was poking out of the gray moss. I bent down to look at it. The stem that held it up seemed to be moving all of its own, though I couldn't tell exactly what it was doing.

Then, it suddenly snapped shut. I jerked back a little, and watched with amazement as it slowly slid underneath the moss.

"Oh my. I wonder if I scared it?" Mr. McCoy asked as his flower closed and hugged the tree. All of the flowers were doing the same thing, one after another.

"Perhaps it is a time of day sort of thing. The time of day determines when it blooms." Mr. McCoy speculated.

"I don't think so." Rahne said suddenly. She looked as if something was really wrong.

"What's wrong?" Kitty whispered.

"Don't you feel the hairs on the back of your neck standing up? Something's watching us…"

Crepuscule snorted and began to dig at the moss. I didn't get up. I got the sudden thought that whatever saw Rahne couldn't see me. Not until I moved.

I heard Jean gasp. I snuck a glance over at her. She had turned white and was staring at something I had my back to.

"What is that thing?" Kitty squeaked. Then she screamed. "RUN! IT'S COMING!"

Crepuscule snorted and reared clawing the air and showing off how bad he was. It was a diversionary tactic. The others ran off into the forest fast. I didn't look at what they were running from. I rolled forward and slipped between some trees, not looking back. When I had gotten about ten feet away, I snuck a glance behind. Crepuscule was backing up fast away from a large iron…thing.

I lost my footing and went tumbling down a small hill. I quickly got up and saw out of the corner of my eye a large black shape wing off above the trees. Crepuscule had gotten away from the monster.

Loud clanking caught my attention. I quickly started moving off into the forest again. What sounded like a low whine started behind me as something started coming down the hill I had tumbled down a minute ago.

I didn't look behind me as I ran. That would defeat the purpose of looking where I was going.

I heard a small river ahead of me and headed for it. Where there are rivers, there is usually a way to get away from predators.

The river was wide, but only knee deep. Which was alright, I wouldn't get my clothes wet. I tried to keep my balance while running downriver. The longer I followed the river, the harder it would be to keep up with me. Not only would that water mask my scent as I ran, it provided a clear way for me to use. And even if I fell and got soaked, I would still be fairly light. I didn't get a good look at the other guy, but I bet it's not too easy to swim when covered in metal. And not to easy to walk when there's water in the armor.

I stole a glance behind me as I dodged a sharp rock. The armored thing had plunged into the water and was following me, but at a much slower rate.

It was massive, eight feet tall with spikes and completely covered in armor. Attached to one arm there was a shield, with no markings on it. The other hand supported a club with spikes.

Great. Once again, I find myself in deep trouble.

Well, at least it didn't appear to be too smart. It just got stuck.

It was too heavy for to river bed, which was a lot of dirt. It was sinking.

I almost felt pity. That is, until it threw that club at me and totally disintegrated the tree beside me.

I turned and ran down the river again, not waiting for it to take off its shield and chuck it at me too.

* * *

Hmm, this chapter's a bit longer than the last few.

Asteria: I like this world too, so I probably won't leave it completely. I hope you like this chapter!

Chrissy: I love that movie! Jim Henson is so cool. Did I outline or make up….well…I have to say both. I have a very vague overall plot, but you see, my mind tends to jump from points really fast, and if I wrote like my mind thinks, then the plot wouldn't be confusing, it would be just awful. So the stuff I make up as I go along is the meat of the chapters, but the direction was planned out before hand. I hope you like the chapter! Oh, and Herman thanks you for the hat and patch!

Laureate: Chrissy already gave him a hat and an eye patch. Yes, I probably will try my hand at an original story soon. The only problem is, I don't know what I want to do. Hope you like this chapter!

Anon(girl): I'm sure I'll update one of the two soon!

asp: I can draw, I just can't draw well. I'll see if I can't draw a picture that looks like it's supposed too, and put it on my site. I'm glad you like the Cryers, and I hoped you like this chapter!

Raliena: I hope you like the chapter!

PrincessOfWildfire: Boring and uncreative? Of course not. I don't think I could. Heh. Thank you very much, I try to be at least a little different. Dark scribe? I'll have to check that out.

Herman will take the reviews yet again! Behold his new pirate costume hat and eye patch!


	22. The Blue Lights

A/N

I know I was a little late updating, but my computer is going crazy and it keeps on having a temper tantrum when I want to get on. Yesterday I got a little sick and slept a good part of the day (but I'm feeling much better now) summer allergies are a pain in my butt. A few other things contributed, but we won't go into that, besides, it just been three days since the last update. That's still much better then when I was still in school.

* * *

"I really hope they don't get lost or something." I said to myself as I wandered through the woods.

I was not lost. Well, not really. I could always rely on animals to point me in the right direction, but I didn't know where the others were.

The big iron thing, which I had left half sunken into the riverbed, had done an absolutely marvelous job at scattering us. But I wasn't all that worried. We all were pretty hard to catch unawares, and all of us would be jumpy and hard to approach after the last incident.

I traced my fingers across a tree trunk just like every other one I'd seen. The bark was swirled and rough to the touch, and had around it a vine and several buds. The buds were slowly opening to reveal star pointed blue flowers.

"Close to danger." I murmured aloud as I watched flowers on other trees bloom. They all seemed to be blooming the same way, which was incredibly odd. I know that when I ran off into the forest I'd probably see more of the flowers, but this was ridiculous. Flowers do not all bloom the same direction, unless one counts flowers that bloom towards the sun. But there was little sun here and no wind that was strong enough to bend them back.

It was as if they all bloomed in—

Oh.

I followed a trailing vine down into the moss. I cleared the moss away slowly and carefully so I wouldn't break anything.

The more moss I cleared, the more obvious the pattern became.

Every single vine traveled across the trees and onto the ground to merge with other vines, which in turn traveled deeper into the forest.

"A system." I dug out of my memory the term for it. The human term anyway. I needed to study my science books a little more.

"I wonder how far it goes?" I asked aloud. It wasn't a question of where it went. I knew that answer. It went to the center. What was at that center, I wasn't sure, but I sure wasn't going to find out here.

I really shouldn't go though. What about the others? I'd feel bad if I made them worry. But the forest was so…enticing. I wanted to see where the flowers came from, and what was at the center, and if there was anything beyond it. Of course there was, but was it interesting?

And who knew? I might find them in the process. Or get yelled at when found by them. And there was no danger, except by the river. I would know if there was.

"That's it then." Trouble it is.

I kept walking past the flowers and noted the way they all looked back at the way I came. If they all did that, then if the center was a flower, where did it look?

As I walked through the woods, the flowers began to show up a little tighter together than before. Instead on one or two flowers per tree there were three or four. And the moss was growing grayer, it seemed.

Almost an hour and a half later following the flowers, I noticed they had begun to look in different directions. Never back, but now they fanned out to the side. Judging by the way it looked, I'd say the flowers were arranged in a circular pattern, all going outwards, until they got to the center.

My feet crunched on something and I glanced down. The moss was beginning to recede and the ground was littered with twigs and the foot thick vine that was traveling across the ground.

And it still had to merge with several others I saw.

"Wow." I stepped over it carefully, not knowing if it was fragile or not. As big as it was, it didn't look like I could dent it with a hammer, but looks can be deceiving.

I followed the big vines as they moved into the forest, but was stopped from following all the way by a small grove of trees, which were knitted together by the vines and star pointed flowers. The blue flowers seemed to bob even though there was no wind.

The walls of vines were impenetrable, at least from where I was standing. I walked around the grove, only about fifteen trees by my estimate, and found the same for all sides.

"I take it you all don't entertain much." I said half-aloud to the flowers. They, as expected, didn't answer.

"The Blue Lights live forever as long as they bar their past to the mortal eye."

I straightened up fast and turned. There was an old man, with a short mostly black ponytail. He walked slowly and with a purpose, and there was no sign he suffered from any of the pains of old age. The only thing that betrayed him as such was the wrinkles on his face and the way his eyes seemed to take in everything with knowledge of all.

"Excuse me?" I asked, a little taken back.

"You figured out how the Blue Lights move. Their center lives in that grove."

He wore a button down vest and white shirt, with black pants. Even though I'd say he was a little overdressed for these woods, he seemed to fit in with an eerie grace.

"What's in there?" I asked.

"The beginning of their universe." He answered. I'd have to say his appearance reminded me of the old Indian pictures my great Grandpa showed me.

"So…the very first flower. And that's what keeps them alive, that flower, so they protect it by growing a wall separating it and the outside world."

He nodded. He looked satisfied, probably because I figured it out.

"Which way…does the first flower look?" I asked him. I was really curious now that I'd given up trying to see it for myself.

"There is a story about the Blue Lights. They say the flower is a god, sent down into this form to show the people how to live their lives. And the flower taught them well."

"What did it teach?"

"The flower teaches us that we must keep close ties to our family, no matter how far away they are. It also teaches us that without the beginning, whether it be the flower that gives us the bud or the first vine that crawls out into the open, we could never be."

"Nothing is achieved without taking the first step?" I summarized, trying to keep up with him. He nodded.

"If you want to look at it that way. It also teaches us that together we are strong, but something are accomplished only by setting out on your own. And the last, most important thing is this—You may keep your ties to the past, but to look back obscure your view of the future, and distracts those around you from doing the same."

"Wow. That's deep." I said intelligently, for lack of something to say. It was amazing people could get so many things from just a flower, even though it did make good sense.

He chuckled. It was actually a little high pitched for the man that was so all knowing a second ago.

"You are a lot like the other that dropped by the town a few days ago."

"Other?" Warning bells started clanging and I eagerly asked, "What were they like? Did they say a name?"

"Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes, I lost some friends."

"These the same ones you ditched after you ran the Soul King's soldier into the river?"

"Oh…were you following us?" Why didn't I sense him? Because I wasn't looking for him. He must roam these woods a lot, and the animals have gotten used to it.

"I was told from the birds that you all were wandering the forest, I went to look. Many soldiers have been in the area recently, I can only assume it's because of some altercation."

"Do the soldiers attack you?"

"No. Not usually do they attack, they just look. That's the first time I've seen one move so decisively."

"Oh. Did you say the birds talked to you?"

"Of course. Speaking with the beasts that roam with us on these lands is not so hard if you know what they are trying to say."

Oh. So it wasn't like my gift, he's running off intuition.

"Could you take me to see the person that arrived a few days ago?"

"What about your friends?"

"I can find them again. I'm told they smell strange, so it shouldn't be all that hard."

* * *

His name was not the Indian name I expected. It was Khom. I didn't know what it meant, if it did mean something.

"Incase I am caught, then I just change the words around, and I am Mohk. Home free."

I didn't ask him about why he would be caught, and he didn't press the matter on why I was wandering around in the woods.

Keeping up with him was a little difficult. He had longer strides than I did, and sometimes I had to jog to keep up with him.

I noticed vaguely at first that the scenery had begun to change. The forest began to be decorated with more flowers. Reds, greens, purples. And on the wind I could hear the light music of a flute and other wind instruments. It must not be too far now.

We passed a small stream and I was met by the fantastic view of a village, in both the trees and on the ground. Some people were dancing, others were showing off with this little glowing ball of light, some older men were around a table under a tree playing some sort of card game that looked like Poker, only with seven cards. Some women were flirting shamelessly with some guys that looked like they were probably merchants, and some were cooking what looked like a pig in a cooking pit.

"Some sort of party going on?" I asked Khom, who smiled.

"It is the festival of Blue Light, courtesy of the Blue Light City Under The Stars. When the night comes, the true celebration begins.

"Wow. I hope I'm not intruding."

"No, we sometimes bring in outsiders, and half the time people pay us a lot of money to be able to see the night sky from our spot."

"So I take it you aren't upset about letting them in."

"As long as they behave themselves, there are no worries. But we still hold the right to leave them in the forest if they tick us off."

"Oh. So I guess you have the best of both worlds, hunh? I mean, if you leave people in the forest if they make you angry, that must mean it's difficult to get out of. So you can stay here all you want and never be really bothered."

"That's about the scope of it." He said grinning.

"Danny? Is that you? Holy cow! It IS you!"

I tried to look around for the source of the voice when some sort of nut hit me in the back of the head.

"Up here!"

I turned to see Jubilee gesturing wildly on top of a rope bridge. She was dressed in a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a green shirt. Her favorite coat was nowhere in sight. Another girl, a pretty girl with light brown hair and worried eyes was trying to keep her from tumbling over the side.

"Jubilee!" I yelled and waved.

"So you do know each other. Alright then, I will leave you in the company of my cousin." Khom said as he waved to the young girl, who looked only about fifteen. He turned and before I could thank him for leading me here, he was gone.

Both of the girls rushed down the rope bridge over to a ladder which they both almost fell down in order to get to the bottom. Then Jubilee ran straight toward me and grabbed me in a hug that knocked the wind out of me. I honestly didn't know she was that strong.

"I'm so glad to see you! I had the most horrible day when I first got here, these little gremlins were dragging me around that forest out there, and then Max and her pals helped me out!"

"Max?" I said, about to turn blue. She released me and pointed to the younger girl.

"That's Max."

She nodded her head towards me and I nodded back.

"You are Danny? Jubilee said much about you and many other people."

"Yeah, I kinda left some of them back in the woods."

"Oh, don't worry. My father sent out a group to retrieve some people that were wandering aimlessly out there. That's probably your friends."

"Who's here? Who?!" Jubilee squeaked about to jump out of her skin from excitement.

"Kitty, Rahne, Jean, and Mr. McCoy. Oh, and a friend I made."

"You made another friend? What is it this time, a unicorn?"

"Not…exactly."

"Danny! Jubilee!" Kitty came running out of nowhere and latched onto Jubilee. "I was worried about you guys."

"How did you get here?" I asked, totally surprised.

"These nice guys found us in the forest and, like brought us here. We just got here, like, two minutes ago. Oh, wait here! I'll go fetch the others." She ran off before I could say anything else.

"How does she do that?" Jubilee asked no one. "She come for three seconds, then disappears leaving a lasting impression. How, may I ask?"

"Must be a repressed mutant ability."

"Will you all stay for the celebration?" Max asked me. I shrugged.

"It might be fun, but I don't know how long we'll stay."

"You should stay until tomorrow morning. It's too late to meet the edge of the forest now, and the forest holds the night."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There are many dangerous things in those woods, but you don't see them at day."

"Alright. You're the authority on this, I won't argue with you." I told her. In my opinion, it's always better to listen to the people who know what they're talking about, it saves a whole heap of trouble.

Max nodded. Behind her I could see the telltale shapes of a bunch of mutants hurrying over to see us.

"Well, while we're here, do you want to meet the others?" I asked her.

* * *

Hmm, what will the celebration be like?

Asteria: Heh, thank you, I hope you liked this chapter!

PrincessOfWildfire:Heh, thanks. Glad you liked it, and I hope you liked the chapter!

Raliena: Herman might mistake his sword for a bug and eat it. Then we'd all be in trouble. Glad you loved the last chapter!

Anon(girl): Thanks a lot! I'm really glad you liked it! Hope you got some questions answered!

asp: Wouldn't it though? Then I'd be making my own comic book. It'd be great. Well, I hope you like this chapter even though I left you in the fog last chapter!

Herman is …sleeping for some odd reason. Well, leave the reviews by his wings and he'll collect them when he wakes up.


	23. The Blue Light Celebration

A/N

Another update, shorter than the last two, but still rather interesting. Hope you all like the chapter, I'll probably leave updating this story to get the other two I'm updating updated.

* * *

"They say there is an old witch, who draws to her the handsome men of the world…" The storyteller began her story with a slow, spooky voice. "And she brings those men to her to fill in the vacant place in her heart for her lost lover. They say the witch entices these men to her home and cooks them a fantastic meal and warm wine. But…" She paused for dramatic emphasis here, "if there is something about the man she does not like, say they shake away her charms or their manners leave something to be desired, she changes them, to a form she believes suits them. Many are hideous shapes, others beautiful flowers, and still others birds, cats, dogs, frogs perhaps. But now you realize, men, young and old, stay away from the temptress, for you will lose yourself."

This was just one of the many stories being told around the fires. One man started talking about the dark lights that followed the magic blue, another was engrossed about telling a story of a warrior who died fighting a monster with no name, and another still was talking about fables and what they could teach before going off on one.

I heard several other tales that bore a strange resemblance to tales told back on my world too. There was story about maidens that live in towers with no doors, stories of fairy folk that would bewitch trespassers into their domain and kill them with dancing, but these stories were told to the wide eyed children, but none of the storytellers of these particular ones seemed to take them seriously.

The Celebration of Blue Lights was in full swing. It was very dark now and the only way a person could see was to stay beside the crackling fires. I was perched on a branch between Jubilee and Rahne, after being told by Max that this would be the best place to see the show. I did not have a clue about what she was talking about. Rahne asked, but Max just grinned and shook her head.

I knotted the sash around my waste a little tighter. I appear to be losing weight. I'm going to have to watch that, the last thing I need is to get thinner. Miraculously, I hadn't clumsily caught the sash on anything when I climbed onto the branch.

But the night is still young.

"But you see, the mountain lion had forgotten an important thing—"

"She led the men into her fairy ring and there they danced…Till the sun rose and they were no more…."

"But she could not escape, because there were no doors!"

"Look! Look! It's beginning!" A child jumped up and shouted, pointing to the woods. I and the other girls looked.

Slowly, little points of blue started blinking in the forest. Then there were more. And more. Soon the entire forest, even parts of the village were bathed in a blue light.

"Wow…" Rahne breathed, taking it all in. I had to agree. Then, what looked like pollen started to slowly come out of the blue light. Then I realized that it was too orderly to be pollen.

Butterflies. Big, beautiful, gaudy butterflies. They were glowing with blue light and flying off into the sky. There must have been hundreds of them. Thousands even. They swirled up into the sky as one, carrying with them the light from flowers.

They must all have been in the forest, waiting for the flowers to bloom with light.

"The pollen must stick to their wings and cause them to glow like that." Mr. McCoy mused, as he sat on a tree branch not far away. Kitty and Jean were standing on a rope bridge. Crepuscule was laying with his shoulder against a tree on the ground.

"Another magical migration underway." Khom said as he unexpectedly appeared on a platform beside us. "They'll carry the life of the woods far, and when the blue life is spent, they will return to gather more."

Carriers of magic.

Butterflies! Morphos butterflies are the carriers of magic!

"Is it magic?" I said, trying to contain my excitement of actually putting something into place.

"Some call it magic. Some life. Some call it the world's protection. It all depends on where you hail from, eh?"

"I guess so." I said with a nod. It was all I could do to keep a smirk off my face.

Hah, confuse me will you? We'll see who gets the last laugh. I'm going to figure this problem out.

When the Blue Light finally faded, people started to go to sleep. I followed my friends to a very spacious (compared to our last quarters) treehouse, where we all bedded down for the night.

I lay awake, thinking.

Morphos Butterflies are the carriers of magic. Which, in turn, must make them a key essential to the Soul King's plan. Well, I keep seeing them in places, after the hooded man, here…which means they're probably drawn to places of high magic, of course this is only speculation. But it's all I have. So, the Morpho are drawn to magic, which is why they come here to collect it. I guess the life of the woods is sucked up by the roots of the Blue Lights, which is in turn released to the Morphos. And as far as the hooded guy went, he was using a lot of magic. So, they may have been drawn to him.

Which tells me absolutely nothing except that he's probably really powerful, which I know already.

So, I have a vague idea what's going on. The Soul King plans on using lots of magic stuff, which is making the Morphos upset, and to complete his beginning plan, he must kill a human virgin from another world.

Golly gee, this is clearing itself right up, isn't it?

I rolled over and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

The morning was bright and cheery, and I instantly hated it. Usually I'm a morning person, but this morning wasn't all that great, I decided.

I was still up before most of the others were. Jean and Mr. McCoy were out talking to the villagers, getting directions.

I sat on the small platform ringing the house and lightly tapped the ladder that was to be my way down with my foot. I wondered where we could go next. I mean, this world is just full of surprises. In a way, it would be a shame to miss them all.

But life in another world calls, and I have to go back to it.

"Danny! Get the others up! We're going soon!" Jean called up to me. I got up and went back into the house and woke up the others.

"Time to get up guys, Jean said we're leaving soon."

"Man, it is too early in the morning." Kitty grumbled as she got up. "And my hair is a mess."

"So is mine, I'd fight the Blob for a brush." Jubilee said as she got up. Rahne looked at her.

"What makes you think he'd have one?"

We all managed to get down to the ground where we formed a semicircle around Jean. Crepuscule came up behind me and stood awaiting orders.

"We're going to head north. There's a city to the north, and we may be able to find more of the others. Now, we have to stay together," pointed glare in my direction, "because of that thing that attacked us yesterday. There may be more. We may need all of us to help bring it down."

"Now, we've managed to acquire some supplies you will all have to carry. One pack per person. And you, Mr. Crepuscule, would it be alright if you carried several?" Mr. McCoy asked the being behind me.

Crepuscule barely nodded.

"Very well. The let's get packing!"

The packs were heavy with food and other things. Max and Khom had managed to wrangle a nice bit of food for all of us. I think they knew we were gunning for hard times ahead.

I tied the packs on Crepuscule quickly. He stayed still for me as I worked to make sure they wouldn't impair his flight if he needed to run. I patted him on the neck when I finished and waited for the others.

Kitty was very happy about the whole situation. "Guys! Did you realize that we are all girls, except for Mr. McCoy and the big horse thing? I mean this is totally girl power."

Yeah. Right. I curled my fingers a few times. The injury I sustained to my hands had finally stopped hurting and when I checked my hands, the skin was still raw, and stitched, but it was looking better all of the time.

Jean handed Mr. McCoy what looked like a map. I fell in step at the back of the line when we all headed back out into the forest, with Crepuscule by my side. Some of the children waved. I smiled at them and waved back. But none of them followed us to the edge of the forest.

"Just keep heading North!" Was Max's last piece of advice. I nodded and waved goodbye.

The forest stayed silent as we waded through the ankle deep moss that began to cover the forest a few meters after we went in. The blue flowers remained open, a reminder of last night's display.

But now, the forest seemed a little more alive. I assume the Soul King's soldier had frightened the animals away, but now they were here in plain view.

There were big deer, almost as tall at the shoulder as Crepuscule, with a crown of antlers so large I wondered how they could move between the trees. There were little four legged ball of fluff that clung to the trees, eating the bark. And every now and then, I saw the brilliant flash of golden birds as they flitted just above the treetops.

And there was menace in the dead hollows that I could not see, but could hear.

Rahne, Kitty, and Jubilee joked. Jean immediately went into a stern leader mode and directed everyone while Mr. McCoy paid very close attention to the map and compass he'd been given. Crepuscule and I said nothing. Sometimes he asked me questions about what the three girls ahead of us were talking about, but most of the time I was alone with my thoughts on the forest around us.

And what would happen next.

* * *

What indeed?

PrincessOfWildfire: I want to see that movie soon, I heard it was great. Glad you loved it!

Anon(girl): Yup. I know exactly what you mean. I've had problems with allergies like that. A leprechaun! You can't find a better worker, they're usually pretty good as long as you keep handing them gold. Hope you like this chapter!

Raliena: That's something I've noticed about bats—some are really heavy sleepers. Others just look at you in confusion when you wake them up. Hope you like the chapter!

asp: Heh, I guess it depends on how long it would be. It would be great to have both. Glad you liked the last chapter, hope you like this one too!

Herman is handing out fake blue flowers for all readers! Put them next to a flashlight and they look like they're glowing blue! Oh, and he will also take the reviews!


	24. Paradise in the Plains

A/N

Sorry about the delay, I got sidetracked by father's day and work, but I'm back, and I wrote a longer than usual chapter for you, I hope you like it!

* * *

We got out of the forest a day after we left The Blue Lights clan. It was actually smaller than I expected, in a way. When I first saw the forest, it seemed so expansive, so massive, and at times totally unnavigable. But looking back, it really isn't as bad as my imagination led me to believe.

We had left the forest and come out to a large, grassy plain, full of rocks and pits that one couldn't see until they were right on top of it or had fallen into them. Which led to several hilarious push me pull you scenes when one of us got stuck.

Crepuscule was keeping a sharp eye on his surroundings. Never know what could pop up out of nowhere in these places.

"It's hot, and when are we gonna rest?" Rahne asked, almost panting.

"We will rest in a few hours, Miss Sinclair, until then we must be pressing on." Mr. McCoy told her sternly.

"Oh man." She whispered under her breath.

I had to admit, it was rather hot. Really too hot for someplace so green. And there was no running water in sight.

We kept on trudging for the better part of an hour when Mr. McCoy finally called us to stop and rest. The heat was getting to be too much. Even the background noise had begun to quiet to an almost indiscernible buzz.

We found shade under this little outcropping of rocks, but it wasn't very much. We all tried to relax and ignore the pounding sun.

It had to be over a hundred degrees. What was going on?

Rahne and Kitty were fanning themselves with their hands. Their faces had begun to look an unhealthy shade of red.

I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. No animal was showing its head above a grassy knoll or outside the holes they had dug themselves into to keep cool. There was a discontented murmur that I could barely hear, and couldn't quite understand.

Farther beyond that, there was the muttering of underground creatures as they dug and found themselves at odds with a barrier they couldn't fathom. And somewhere beyond that was the muffled whispers of birds.

The birds seem to be enjoying themselves, though muffled as they were. It must be cooler where they are.

I stood up abruptly. Jean gave me a quizzical look. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going someplace cool. You're welcome to join me if I can find a way in."

Immediately everyone was on their feet and following me.

"How do you know there is someplace around here, Danny?" Mr. McCoy asked me.

"They complain really loudly. They're trying to get in underground, but they can't, and they're upset about it. But the birds are happy, and they shouldn't be, it's too hot to be happy for birds, they'd be sleeping or trying to keep cool, especially with the rising temperature."

There was an immediate silence after my little explanation, and I felt like rolling my eyes. "The animals said so."

"Oh." Was the only thing that came out of Kitty.

I kept walking straight on ignoring the murmurs of annoyed rodents when a mutant stepped too close to their holes.

My feet didn't stop until I was right above the mutterings of the angry underground dwellers.

There was nothing, except an oddly colored shimmer in the air, something someone would miss unless they were looking closely.

Magic.

I reached out my hand and pressed it against the shimmer. It felt like glass was hovering in the air in front of me, but I couldn't really see it.

"It's a big bubble." I said to them, halfway expecting them to be staring at me. They were. But that was beside the point. Mr. McCoy came up and tapped the shimmer. It sounded like a spoon hitting the out side of an empty coffee can.

"Incredible." He murmured.

"Yeah but how do we get in?" Jubilee asked.

The birds were watching us. I know they were. I couldn't see them, but I knew they were there.

"Maybe we can, like phase through it." Kitty suggested.

"I wouldn't try it." Jean said. "We have no idea how it reacts, and it may hurt you."

"Why don't we dig?" Rahne suggested.

"Danny already said that things under the ground can't get in."

Good to know they listen. The birds were sending me an odd image.

"Maybe they didn't like, dig deep enough."

"Perhaps this, force field like occurrence has some sort of weak spot we can open with our mutations."

That was a strange symbol.

"Like, he's right! Maybe you can give it a psychic blast Jean."

How very interesting…

"Yeah, her powers are good to go, but what about the rest of us? Beauty and brains only get us so far, and Mr. McCoy only has brains and brawn, so how's that going to help us break it open?"

"You are such a killjoy Jubes."

I touched the shimmer with one finger and began to trace the symbol just as the birds had recited to me. First a circle…

"I'm just trying to be realistic."

Then a square inside the circle… kind of an oddly shaped square…

"Realistic? Nothing about this place is realistic."

Outside the circle draw five points…

"We shouldn't argue. It's taking up energy."

"Rahne's right. We need to stay focused.

And meet the five points in the middle.

"Danny? What are you doing?"

"I'm meeting the five points." I said offhandedly.

"What points?"

"I knew one of us was going to get sunstroke."

They couldn't see it, but I could. Only one more line to go and then…

"Holy cow! What did you do!?" Jubilee squealed.

The shimmer abruptly changed into a shining purple color. Then right where I was tracing my little picture, the air opened to reveal a paradise just a step away, where before there had only been a green grass field.

"Let us ask the question after we get inside." Mr. McCoy hurried the other girls in after me. Crepuscule followed at a more cautious rate.

Birds, beautiful, exotically feathered birds sat on the branched cooing at me and my friends. When Crepuscule leaped in through the portal, it hurriedly shut, trapping the awful heat outside.

Here it was cool, and there was a light spray of water issuing from a remarkable fountain. It was a gargoyle with all four paws on a pedestal with its neck craned back, shooting water for the birds to bathe in. The water in the pool beside the fountain was covered in some oddly colored Lilly pads, and underneath the water I could see small fish and some large toads with horns.

All over the place were flowers of every size and shape. I found the square flowers actually kind of amusing. I'd never seen flowers in the shapes of blocks before. My friends kept together tightly as we moved through this fantastic garden. The birds were chirping at me, looking me over as if I were something they'd never thought they'd see, which I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

A little red bird with an insanely long tale had decided it would perch on my shoulder and watch me as I walked along. I didn't mind. It didn't weigh hardly anything.

"Is this place on the map?" I heard Jubilee whisper to Jean. Jean shook her head.

"I didn't see it."

"Hey look, it's like, a tower!"

We all looked to where Kitty was gesturing. Right through the trees I could see a large stone tower. It looked like the stones were made of some sort of red stone, but it was absolutely covered in blue ivy.

As I moved around, trying to get a better look, I noticed some large platforms on the sides of the tower, looking like special last minute add-ons.

"We should go to see if anybody's home." Jean said decisively.

"But what if they aren't happy to see us?" Jubilee asked.

"Then we probably will have to apologize and leave, or we make sure they know we intend to leave." She said calmly.

I stepped back from them. I was no good in a fight anymore. Besides, why would I go just to be underfoot?

I walked back the way we came and stood next to the gargoyle fountain. I found myself wondering who would live in this place.

People are a strange sort. I'm not so good with them. People care about animals very much, but some people hate other people but still love animals. Some people love people but hate animals. Some people hate everything.

Some can't be bothered, and some love all.

And somewhere in there fits me.

And whoever it was that just decided to pop up behind me.

"Can I help you?" A slightly annoyed voice said behind me.

I whirled around to look at the person that spoke.

She was beautiful. Not in the princessly golden blonde hair and blue eyes way, but still she was gorgeous. She had brown hair that was pulled back tightly into a high ponytail, but after the tie her hair flowed out again, a little messy and very curly. She was taller than I was, by far, about six feet tall if I could estimate right. Her face seemed flawless, except the look she was giving me right now, and she was wearing this tan sundress, and in one hand she was holding a small pair of clippers, which were covered in some sort of purple substance, I'm guessing from the fruit she was holding in her other hand, green, but with a small dripping a purple juice. Her eyes were brown, the same as her hair, but they were the kind of eyes that expressed emotion exceedingly well.

And they were not very pleased.

"Are you going to keep staring at me, kid, or are you going to answer my question?"

"Uh…sorry. I just didn't hear you sneak up on me, that's all."

"I don't sneak in my own home. You and your pals are the ones that are sneaking around here. "

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to barge in, but it's really hot outside of this," I gestured the garden, "place, and we really needed to find some shade."

"So you just barge in on a sorceress's land. Are you stupid or something?"

"Well…actually ma'am, I have a tendency to do things without thinking, so I may very well be."

She just stared at me for a moment, taken back. She didn't look a day over twenty-five.

"Well…at least you're honest to yourself about these things." She said uncertainly. Then her expression hardened. "How did you get in here in the first place?"

"Uh…." I looked around, trying to figure out what I was going to say. Somehow, I don't think I wanted to cross this woman.

"Speak up and speak fast. Or do you want me to turn you into a permanent resident of this little garden plot?"

"No, but I don't know if you'll believe me."

She looked at me for a moment, then crossed her arms over her chest.

"Try me, short stuff."

I let the last comment slide and took a deep breath. "The birds told me how to get in."

She just stared at me for a moment. Then she frowned. "I specifically told these birds not to talk to people using that magic. How did you convince them to help you?"

"I don't use magic. The most magic I've ever been able to do is to make sure my disappearing siblings reappear. I have this mutation, it allows me to speak mentally to animals."

"Mentally?"

"Yes."

"To animals?"

"Yes."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"No, but it's true."

"Then what is that toad thinking?"

"He's dreaming about…err…things that are incredibly embarrassing for me to think about."

"Hunh. Well, if that's true then let it be known I always thought he was a voyeur. So, tell me something only my birds would know. And if I see you using magic, you'll be using roots, understand?"

"Okay." I turned my head to the small red bird on my shoulder, thought better of it, then held my hand out to a large white bird with a long neck. It took the invitation eagerly and landed gently on my outstretched arm. His beak was much like a duck's and he leaned in close to inspect my hair.

(Hello.)

_Look at this! This hair is so very strange, not much hair two colors! What is this voice? Ahh, you speak to Greego?_

(Hello Greego. How are you today?)

_Greego__ is pleased with the way the sun passes over but does not heat the trees. He feels sorry for those caught out in it's awful embrace._

(I know what you mean. Greego, could you please tell me something about this woman?"

_Greego__ knows this woman. A very nice woman, found Greego in the old forest home and brought him here to live. Greego knows she travels around all of the time, so many different places! We all come with her, because she is lonely._

(Why is she lonely?)

_No one loves the beautiful woman, only care for her powers and abilities as a sorceress. But we love her. Greego loves her._

(It's sad to never be liked for who you are.)

_Yes yes, very sad. She like pretty flowers though, and she does not know how to cook. She gets magic to cook for her, and she sleeps in the high room of the tall tower. _

(Anything else?)

_Greego__ could tell you a lifetime. But one more thing. The Gargoyle at the top of her tower, hidden from view, lives. It is protector of her tower._

(Thank you very much Greego.)

_So very nice, Greego appreciates that. Goodbye!_

He jumped off my arm and flapped back to his spot in the tree.

"That was interesting." The woman was gazing at me, as if trying to divine answers she wanted from the way I stood. "Does it always happen like that?"

"Pretty much. No words needed." I stroked the little red bird's head before continuing. "According to Greego-"

"Who?"

"That big white bird I was talking with."

"He has a name?"

"I don't know how it works, sometimes they give me a name, sometimes not."

"Oh, well, please continue."

"You use magic to cook. You sleep in the highest room in your tower, and I'm guessing that you're living a somewhat hermited existence because sometime ago you decided people don't like you for who you are, only for your abilities as a sorceress. You like flowers and I'm guessing that you somehow move this entire place around when you want a change of scenery."

"That's…very good. But you could have gotten that from anyone that knew me."

"You have a real live gargoyle hanging out on top of your tower as a protector."

"Okay, now you're freaking me out. How did you do that without magic?"

"I'm a mutant. Back on my own world there are lots of mutants all with different powers. I'm just one of them."

"Back on your world."

"Yeah."

"Why are you here, then?"

"We ran into some trouble. Some guy snagged a bunch of my friends and dragged them here. Now they're scattered and I'm helping look for them."

She stared at me. I knew how ridiculous the tale sounded. Fact is stranger than fiction, ladies and gents.

"You really aren't lying, are you?"

"No." I shook my head.

She turned slightly away from me, frowning.

"Alright, I'll let you stay for awhile. But only a little bit. I don't cater to guests, I'm a sorceress and I have better things to do."

"Understood, ma'am."

"My name is not ma'am, country, it's Adelia."

"My name is Danny."

"Well alright Danny, I suppose I should free your friends from my spider vines. Come on, you all look like you haven't had a bath in a week."

* * *

This was a fun chapter to write.

Raliena: Glad you like it! Hope you like this chapter as well!

Asteria:I'm glad you like it! Beautiful and Deep, it's more than I would ask for, heh. I hope you like this chapter just as much!

PrincessOfWildfire:Glad you like Danny's attitude, I'm rather happy with the way this story is going myself. Glad you like the flower, and I hope you like this chapter!

Herman is gone for the moment…and a little stone gargoyle with 'review taker' is in his place! Well, you all know what that means!


	25. Adelia Tells a Story

A/N

A little bit of back story on a certain character in this one…

* * *

Jean was busy scrubbing her hair out. During our trip, it had become nothing but a giant mess of tangles. Rahne didn't have that problem, but Jubilee and Kitty did.

Adelia had a huge tower. It was much bigger on the inside. I suspect some magical tinkering. Anyway, she showed us to this room with several different baths for all of us girls. She showed Mr. McCoy and Crepuscule elsewhere.

My hair wasn't as bad as the other girls, being shorter than Rahne's though not by much. Still, a great deal of dirt was coming out of it.

I felt a little odd bathing in the same room as the other girls, but shrugged it off. I should be thankful I was getting a bath, and it wasn't as if it was a community tub or anything. We all had our own.

"This is so great, it's been forever since I've had a bath."

"You? I still have gross marsh slime stains on my legs, and I've bathed since then."

"It was really nice of Adelia to take us in for awhile."

"She set a giant plant on us."

"Well, we were, like, trespassing."

"Where did our clothes go?"

"Crap! They're gone!"

"Don't freak, I'll get you some new ones."

"AAAAHHH!" Jubilee was taken totally off guard by the reappearance of the sorceress.

"Yeah, you and a lot of other people. I left some clothes for you to use in the cupboard. The clothes you have were never going to last you anyway." She said to all of us. "When you're done, come down the staircase, I got some food you can eat."

She left just as quickly as she came.

"That was creepy." Jubilee said.

"Well at least her heart is in the right place."

"And new clothes would be good."

I shook my head slightly and smiled. I was all clean now, so I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself and got out of the tub.

I stepped carefully, there was water all over the floor. I walked up to the cupboard, a large wooden one, and opened the door. There were several long sleeved shirts, made of good material, and what looked like calf length pants, made of pretty tough material. As I looked through, I was pleasantly surprised to find my own clothes, cleaned up, even the sash.

Magic again. No way they could have been cleaned that fast any other way.

I pulled those clothes out and went into the dressing room to change. After I was done, I used a brush that was near my bath and brushed my hair back from my face.

The other girls hurriedly got dressed as well. They all looked much better. Kitty and Rahne even found clean ties to pull back their hair with.

"I so need to get some clothes like yours, Dan. Why were yours cleaned?"

"Because they looked like they could still be used, unlike yours, which were in rags and tatters. Are you coming to supper?"

I have to admit, that woman can give people quite the scare.

When we all got over our specific heart attacks, we followed her downstairs. Mr. McCoy and Crepuscule were sitting in the room she led us too sitting in front of the fire in the hearth. It looked like a giant living room.

"Since you all look like you couldn't care less how dinner is served, I'm just going to give you some food in here. Good for you?"

"That would be just fine, madam. I thank you for your hospitality."

"Yes, well eat up. I don't want to hear any cracks on my cooking, either." She gave me a pointed glare.

In the hearth, a pot appeared, filled to the brim with stew. She brought us some bowls and silverware, and we all sat on the floor, except for Mr. McCoy, Jean and Adelia, who quickly snagged three old beaten up comfy chairs.

"So tell me what you all were doing out there, anyway." Adelia said after everyone had finished their first bowl. "Not many people wander around at midday in those plains. They've claimed more lives than a lot of other plains, even the magical ones."

"What causes those plains to become so hot?" Jean asked as she filled her bowl a second time.

"No wind. No protection from the sun. And it's deceptive, with it's too green grass. There's a river flowing right under the ground, and if it wasn't so hot, this place would a marsh. There's also a town not far from here, and their beacon acts like a magnifier for the sun. And it happens to hit this very plain."

"Wow." Was all she could say.

"We are here to look for our friends. They are mutants, as we are. However, as we are not familiar to this world, we tend to get into a bit of trouble." Mr. McCoy told her. I shifted, trying to lean against Jean's armchair at a better angle. As I moved, I saw Crepuscule sneak a glance at Adelia. I rose an eyebrow at that, but he didn't see it, and kept sneaking glances every once in awhile.

Jean and Mr. McCoy quickly filled Adelia in on our little misadventures.

"Ivan, eh? I know that scoundrel. A good man, but a poor law abider. He likes to step out on his own. And I swear the man has some sort of future sight. He seems to know things that no one should." Adelia laughed.

"Hey, you're a sorceress, right? Can you tell me something?" Jean said suddenly.

"What?"

"Danny, hold up your hands." There were no bandages on them.

"Nice scars." Adelia said with a shrug.

"She got them from Crepuscule."

Crepuscule coughed suddenly, choking on a small piece of meat.

"From him? What she do, put her hands out and he drew pretty patterns with a claw?"

"I accidentally set off an enchantment on him, and it dragged some of my mutant powers out of me through my hands." I said quietly.

"What power?" She asked, surprised.

"The power to raise dead animals from the grave." I said with no hint of amusement. She just stared at me, then rose an eyebrow.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

I just shrugged. Some of the others were giving me pitying glances. I shrugged that off too. Really, I don't think I should have a power that…extreme. It's just asking for a supernatural butt kicking, I'm thinking.

"What enchanter placed a spell of that magnitude on you?" Adelia asked Crepuscule. Crepuscule looked a little apprehensive.

"Lady Esperanza."

"HA!" Her swift exclamation made us all jump. "Why am I not surprised?"

"What about it?" He said defensively.

"Don't get defensive, she's a nice lady when she isn't enchanting dead logs to follow people around or setting her little lizard fiends on everyone. Or acting like she's queen of the universe." She said a little smugly. "Which is most of the time. But stand up, let me take a good look at you."

Crepuscule stood up and towered beside her. She walked around him sometimes poking his shoulder or examining the ropes around his neck. Then she pulled the medallion from beneath the ropes it had slid under and examined it as well.

"I have to admit, you're a piece of work. Ah, I remember that symbol. That's the House of Roush-Kaa, he lives to the far West Islands, and you," She looked down at it harder, "are a servant of that house, if my history doesn't escape me. They haven't used these medallions for the last forty years. How long have you been serving Esperanza?"

"A little over fifty years."

"I thought so." She let the medallion go and went back to sit in her seat. "That explains why they don't send servants to her house anymore, I was wondering what the fallout was over."

"I am very confused, Lady Adelia, what are you talking about?"

I was beginning to understand, and I think he did too, but he was struggling to fight against a new idea.

"You were human once. Then you probably got sent, left, did whatever and ended up in the Enchantresses company, for whatever reason, you probably upset her, for reasons that we shall not speculate, and she got you back by making you change job positions, and shape."

"Why…why would she do such a thing?" He looked as if his universe was crumbling and lay down. I put down my bowl and started forward but Adelia gave me a stern look, telling me to keep back.

"Esperanza suffers in ways that no person can truly understand. I've heard stories that she has done this to many men in the past. The reason she does it is because she never recovered from a truly broken heart."

Crepuscule watched her speak, but looked like he was about to go into a deep shock.

"Her love was a man whose name was forgotten by everyone except for her, left her behind on a trip. He was killed."

Rahne, Jubilee, and Kitty had forgotten their food and were listening with rapt attention.

"She waited for him for years. When she finally got the news, that he had died at the hands of others, she got back at them in the worst ways. No one even knows how she found out who they were."

The flames crackling was the only sound I could hear. Everyone was now devoting total attention to the story.

"After that, she devoted herself to the study of magic she had started before she had fallen in love. But she never let herself heal. She let the wound that had opened when he never came back to stay open."

She glanced down at the ground for a moment. "But as most of you know, wounds like that need some comfort, no matter how much one likes the pain. She began reaching out, in an attempt to find someone to fill that space. But her heart wasn't so easily convinced and she began searching for men that looked or acted like her lost loved one. But they were not him, and that made her very upset."

I snuck a glance at Crepuscule. His eyes had turned downcast. His muscles were bunched, as if he was going to bolt from the very room.

"So when she found a man, and they did not meet her expectations in some way, she took it as a personal affront, and acted accordingly. Her favorite punishment to dole out was-"

Changing men into the animals she thought they should represent." Crepuscule finished darkly.

"Exactly."

"I must beg pardon, I would like to get some air." Crepuscule got up and left with all of the dignity he had.

"Well, maybe we should get some sleep." Jean said quietly. Adelia nodded.

"Go up the staircase and take a left at the third landing. That's where the beds are."

Jean and the other girls got up and started up the stairs. Mr. McCoy bid Adelia goodnight and left as well.

"Not going to sleep, country?" She asked crisply as she waved her hand and caused the stew and all the bowls and silverware to disappear.

"I'm just worried."

"He's not going to drown himself in the pool, I think he seemed like he's made of pretty tough stuff."

"Yeah, he is. But, I can't help but feel sorry for him. I mean, to suddenly learn that … these things have happened, it must be traumatic. I hope he's okay."

"Because you need him to help you, or because of himself?"

"What?"

"Are you really worried for him? Or what you're going to do without him?"

"He's my friend. Of course I'm worried about him. I'm worried that he won't be the sophisticated, bashful creature he is and that I know." I got up and sat down in one of the chairs. It was comfy. "I can make it without him. It may take longer, and it may be more difficult, but if he decides he needs to leave than I won't hold it against him."

"Are you just telling me what I want to hear?" Adelia asked. "Or that you think I want to hear?"

"Maybe." I said grimly. "The truth is that I'll be scared if he leaves. Because if he leaves that means I've lost a friend no matter how hard I tried to hold onto him. And I won't have even tried to hold on, because I know whatever he's thinking right now I could never understand, and he'll need to do what he needs to do. I won't stand in the way."

Adelia was silent for a bit. I didn't talk either.

"I could change him back, perhaps."

"That's his decision." I said evenly.

She nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him, you'd better go to sleep."

I nodded a little more uncertainly, and got up and headed for the stairs.

* * *

How sad….

PrincessOfWildfire:The gargoyle appreciates the cookies. I wish we got some rain where I live, it would be welcome. Hope you like this chapter!

Asteria: I'm sure she'll pop up from time to time. Hope you like this chapter!

Anon(girl):Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last one!

Herman is back and shall take all of the reviews!


	26. Human Heart, Bestial Claws

A/N

I was worried I wouldn't be able to upload this, FF.net was acting a little funny.

* * *

Day broke through the window, and I was already awake. The night was restful to be sure, but I wasn't all that comfortable sleeping in other people's beds.

All of the other girls were asleep, along with Mr. McCoy. I stole down the staircase as quietly as I could so I wouldn't wake them up. When I got halfway down the stairs, I heard Adelia talking.

"-can't lift it off entirely. My magic is good, but it isn't up to her standard. You won't be totally human."

"And what shall I be?" Crepuscule's muffled voice asked.

"Probably along the same lines of a changeling. I can give you two forms. But you'll have to change into the creature you are every once in a while, or the consequences could be bad."

"How 'bad'?"

"You could die."

I wondered if I shouldn't go back to my bed and feign sleep. I mean, this was obviously a private conversation.

"I would like to consult my Mistress, before I make a decision."

"Mistress? Aren't those girls a little young for that?" Adelia teased.

"I would never!" He squawked indignantly.

I tried not to laugh.

"I'm sure you wouldn't," She said smugly.

"My lady, I have no idea what you're trying to suggest, but I'll have you know that I am an honorable man!"

"Right now you're a dragon."

"That's besides the point!"

I was biting my lip now. Adelia was obviously baiting the poor creature.

"And I'm sure honorable is what every girl you've come across has wanted. Take Esperanza, shining example."

I'm pretty sure Crepuscule was utterly speechless by now so I started walking down the stairs again.

"Ahh, country. Good to see you."

This morning she was wearing the same dress that she wore yesterday. Her hair seemed a little messy. Crepuscule was lying on the floor beside the chair she was sitting in, looking sulky.

I rose my eyebrow slightly. They must have been talking all night.

"Good morning Adelia. Good morning Crepuscule." I said warmly as I sat in a chair across from them.

"We were just discussing on how to get the enchantment off him."

"I see. Did you get anywhere?"

"Oh I can take it off. Just not all the way. I better go see if the gargoyle is awake, talk amongst yourselves." She got up and stepped around Crepuscule, and headed up the staircase.

Awhile after she was gone, Crepuscule lifted up his head slightly.

"Lady Danny, may I ask you something?"

"My brain is here for you to pick."

"What?"

"Nothing. Go ahead."

"As my mistress, I must ask you if there may be a decision that changes my current state, and if that decision interferes with my duty towards you, and—"

"You talk way too much, Crepuscule. I'm not into the whole courtiers thing, so you'll have to speak in terms I understand. I'm going to guess at what you're trying to tell me now, and interrupt me when I stop talking if any part is wrong."

Crepuscule nodded and I started.

"Since you think of me as your, uh, mistress, you think that everything you do goes through me, and because of that, you now want permission to make a change to yourself that might be better for you, and then you're worried that if you change, you may not want to go running around anymore, and you'd have to ask me about that too."

He looked faintly surprised at me and then nodded.

"And the thing you are most afraid of is that I'll say no, dooming you to a life of thanklessness and depression, even though even if I said no, it doesn't really matter, because you could probably roll me into a ball and play soccer with me and I wouldn't have a chance."

"What's soccer?"

"It's a game I'm not all that great at but it doesn't matter because sometimes the audience is too busy beating each other up to care."

"I see." It was painfully obvious he had no clue.

"Now that we have your point of view, let me place mine…I am not your mistress, master, ruler, caretaker, or otherwise. I can't even master the concept of stay out of trouble. You have to be your own person no matter what anyone else says."

"But I have been a servant for many years."

"Exactly! Why don't you do something you like for a change? I mean, I don't have the right to tell you not to be happy Crepuscule. This is your life. And from now on, you are not to even act like my servant, my soldier, whatever. I'm cutting the strings, you are not in my service, now you have to make your own decisions."

He was totally silent. I was out of breath. That was the longest bit of speech I had ever said. And I'm not good at all about public speaking.

Then he nodded slowly, as if trying to sort something out. "Very well. I will ask Lady Adelia to change me into my true form."

"Good for you!" I cheered.

"And after that…I don't know. Lady Danny…may I ask for some advice?"

"Go ahead, just don't take me at face value."

"Should I go back to the first House I served at?"

"Why bother? You're a free man now."

"Perhaps…but according to law there I must go back and beg my freedom of him." He looked surprised at himself.

"But if you already have that freedom, then why go begging for it?"

"This is true. How very strange…" He tilted his head sideways. "I appear to be remembering things…long before Lady Esperanza."

"She's not Master anymore?"

"No." He said firmly.

"Good for you again. Looks like you just grew a backbone." Adelia came trooping down the stairs. Her dress was red this time. Her hair was straight down, with no hint of a curl to it.

"I thought you were checking your gargoyle." I said.

"He seems to be more interested in guarding the door than the top of the tower. Oh well. Do you to want breakfast? Everyone else is still asleep."

"Please."

"That would be most kind."

She waved her hand in an agitated way at the fireplace hearth and an explosion of ash covered the room with a light dust cloud.

"Drat. Knew I should have gotten the Demights to clean my fireplace."

"Demights? You have them?" I asked, alarmed.

"I don't have them, have them, they show up every once in a great while to take the ashes from my fireplace and my trash. They do that to everyone, I'm fairly sure. They're the universal packrats. They live in the Black Mountain Ranges."

Suddenly the air was clear. And there was a table full of skillet of eggs, bacon, and some other things.

"Hope it didn't get into the food." She muttered as she poked a knife into a toast. The toast didn't get up and poke her back, so I guessed it must be safe to eat.

I filled up a small plate of bacon and a few eggs and a piece of toast, and helped Crepuscule fill up his plate. I sat back down, nibbling on a piece of bacon.

Adelia sat in her chair and nibbled on the piece of toast she'd been poking.

"After breakfast, Lady Adelia, could you be so kind as to help me change back into my original form?"

"I guessed Danny here would be the one you were calling Mistress. She is one of the youngest ones, though."

"She is not my mistress. I am free to make whatever decision I choose, good or bad." Crepuscule said primly as he used his claws to fold a piece of toast in half and popped it into his mouth, chewing daintily. I almost had a fit of laughter right there, to see him eating so prissily.

"Glad you got out of that stage. Fine, finish your breakfast and meet me in the garden. You might want to bring a blanket." Adelia said as she put her plate aside and got back up and headed out into the hall and out of the tower.

"Why the blanket?" Crepuscule asked, mystified.

"You might not have any clothes on." I said, the only explanation popping into my mind. "She's saving you embarrassment."

"Oh." He finished his breakfast swiftly and then shook some crumbs off his foreleg. "Do you know where the blankets are?"

"There should be a few extra in the sleeping quarter, I'll be back."

I ran up the stairs as quietly as I could, pulled an extra clean blanket from the cupboard like the one in the bath. I then came back down and handed the blanket to Crepuscule, who took it gingerly in his mouth, and left the tower. I considered following him, but then decided Adelia would probably have enough to do without me hovering on the sidelines, being distracting.

I sat back down in the comfy armchair and heard bumps coming down the stairs. Apparently I hadn't been quiet enough, the others were awake. Jean came down, hair a little messy but infinitely better looking than a few days ago, followed by Kitty and Jubilee, suffering the same fate, and then by Rahne who was practically bouncing, which was odd, considering Kitty is supposed to be the bouncy one, and then by the lumbering form of Mr. McCoy.

"Good morning! Oh wow, look at the spread, I'm so hungry!" Yes, Rahne was definitely acting Kitty's part.

Things started to straighten up as soon as they all got some food in them. First the conversation turned to the food, and how it was the best they'd ever tasted. Of course it was. All food tastes like the best when you're starving. Then the conversation turned to where they would go next, and how to cross that plain that, oddly enough, I wasn't hearing any grumbling from.

In fact, I was hearing some very different voices… some of them sounded a bit like Rahne.

"But how do we cross a plain that gets hotter than Roberto when he gets angry?"

"We aren't on the plain anymore." I said simply as they finished their breakfast. They all looked at me. I felt nervous. " At least, we aren't in the part that is so hot. We've moved."

"Moved?! To where?!" Jean exclaimed. I shrugged. I wasn't good enough with geography or this planet to know.

"Well, at least we don't have to deal with the heat." Kitty said happily.

"But what do we have to deal with now?" Jubilee asked.

"Killjoy."

"I am not!"

"What's all of this now?" Adelia came walking back in, looking like she just worked an entire work without stopping to eat and sleep.

"You look awful!" Kitty blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Thanks. That spell was a pain in the ass. It kept trying to morph on me. I'll be right back, none of you move." She ran up the stairs.

"Great job with tact Kitty." Jubilee whispered fiercely.

"I said what I saw."

"What part of lying did you fail in your last school?" Jubilee retorted.

"Come now, let's stop fighting." Mr. McCoy said firmly.

Adelia came rushing back down the stairs with a bundle in her arms, looking remarkably better though she seemed to be out of breath. She didn't even say anything as she wnet past them and ran out of the tower.

"Do you think we should help?" Rahne asked worriedly.

"No, I don't think so. We should leave it to her." I said calmly. More calmly than I felt. What if Crepuscule was hurt in some way?

A few more minutes of fierce debating left the room divided on whether we should go or stay. Thankfully, Adelia came back in before we could make a concrete decision.

"Sorry for the whole running around bit. I had a spell that was trying to explode some flowers. And I'd like to introduce you all to someone." She left the room for a second, then came back dragging the arm of a very handsome and very nervous looking young man.

The other girls stared, and I did too, a little.

He had dark skin, a little darker than Roberto's. He was taller than Adelia, by almost a half foot. He wasn't exceptionally broad, but he wasn't slender, the way he moved suggested that he had once been some sort of athlete, though for what I didn't know. Dark black bangs hung over his eyes, and his hair was tired back into a long braid, well down to his knees, covered in rope to stop it from getting loose. His nose was a little long, and he didn't smile because it looked as if he thought he was going to drop dead of nervousness and fear.

Judging by his looks, he was in his twenties, late twenties. Adelia, I assume, had dressed him up in black slacks, a white shirt, and a blue and white jacket, well, long jacket, I don't know what it would be called. The edges of the jacket ended about his knees.

"Who is that?" Jubilee asked.

"This would be Crepuscule." Adelia said proudly. "I undid the spell, well, as much as I could, and he is now free to spend much of his time in his original form."

There were several exclamations of surprise and congratulations and Crepuscule visibly relaxed. I grinned. The guy really had to loosen up.

He turned slightly towards me and met my eyes and smiled. His eyes were the same brown I had seen before. I grinned back. He came over towards me and held out his hand. I got up and shook it.

"Thank you." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"No problem."

* * *

Well, that was rather interesting. But the road calls!

PrincessOfWildfire: Hope your curiosity as satiated. And I hope you liked the chapter!

Asteria: Yeah, she is sort of like her, isn't she? Well, I won't deny that I get inspiration from old greek mythology as well as other places. Good, the understanding bit was what I was going for. Hope you like the chapter!

Raliena: No worries, I'm glad you liked it!

Anon(girl): heh, I'm glad you liked the chapter! I hope you like this one just as much!

Herman shall take the reviews again, and hopes you all have a wonderful day!


	27. Faerie Forest

A/N

Wow, this story has as many reviews as the Comments story. I'm glad everyone likes it so much.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to come along?"

"Yes. It is my choice. Besides, you never know when you might need another pair of wings." He said with a genuine smile. I don't think he's smiled this much since we started this little trip, and he seems to smile a lot more around Adelia. I think there's something serious going down there.

I admit I felt a little put off. I mean, I felt a little attached to Crepuscule, but now he was steadily devoting more of his attention to the sorceress.

Oh well. He is about ten physical years older than I am, and who knows chronologically. Besides, they looked like they made a good match, and a handsome looking couple.

Great, feelings have to go now. Jealousy doesn't suit me. But luckily, while I'm horrible at lying about almost everything, feelings is not one of them. Product of being saddled with the belief that what your charges are feeling are infinitely more important than yours.

Besides, I may or may not have another admirer, and I'm only sixteen, for goodness sakes. I have plenty of time to find that one guy, and plenty of time to make some mistakes along the way.

Not really bad mistakes, I hope though.

Adelia had everybody assembled in the garden, and was almost ready to open the gate.

"We've covered quite a lot of ground, so don't feel surprised when you walk outside." She said, waving her hand. Not symbols, no words. The barrier opened wide enough for us to get through.

"Oh, wow! It looks like home!" Rahne chirped from behind Jubilee.

I looked out of the hole. It was a massive rolling plain, not unlike the one we had left, but this one was greener, and just a few hundred feet ahead, there was a beautiful forest, with sunbeams piercing through the trees to light the plants below. And into the distance, a large, rocky mountain sprouted out of the ground, only a part of a highland that seemed to stretch on forever.

"Wow. Wow. Wow." Jubilee whispered. I was inclined to agree.

"Well? Shoo, my home is not a hotel, buzz off."

"Thanks for everything Adelia!" Jean, accustomed now to Adelia's sudden bouts of crankiness, was the first to jump out of the garden, followed by Mr. McCoy, who bowed and expressed his gratitude as well. The rest of us followed.

I walked in front of Crepuscule, just in case Adelia needed to catch him for something. Adelia nodded to me as I walked out, and I returned it.

Just as I though, Adelia stopped him and started talking. I kept walking. Amazingly, it hadn't been all that hard for me to get over my feelings. Crepuscule would still be a friend, yes, but no more puppy love need be involved.

As I kept walking, I kept seeing little rings of mushrooms. There were four in all that I saw, then I was interrupted in thinking by someone at my elbow. I looked and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Crepuscule grinning like a madman.

"Will you stop that, I think you're scaring the birds."

"Sorry. It's just that I feel wonderful, I haven't felt this good in almost fifty years." He said, managing to dim the smile down a bit. I swear, his teeth could probably act like a night light, and be too bright for the job.

"I suppose it had to do with what Adelia said?" Okay, there was still a hint of jealousy, but I'll get over it.

"How did you know?" He said, totally confused.

"Lady's intuition." I said with a little smile.

He stayed quiet, pondering the thought. I didn't press him to tell me what she said, I had a fairly good idea.

"Hey, hurry up you two!" Kitty yelled, twenty feet ahead of us. I hitched the bag I carried a little higher and started to speed up a little. Crepuscule did the same.

Adelia took a few bags off our hands, as Crepuscule was now human and couldn't carry them. She also refilled the water containers we depleted yesterday.

Crepuscule and I caught up with the others, who were heading in the direction of the mountain. The easiest way that seemed to go there was straight through the forest.

When we stepped into the forest, I allowed my mind to wander and briefly touch with a few animals. But a good number, however, didn't have anything I could read, and I wondered quietly why.

"Look at this place, it's so cool! Mr. McCoy, can we go to Scotland for our next trip?" Kitty asked eagerly. Rahne looked like she was about to pop with swelling pride.

Jean looked around and frowned, then she turned to Rahne. "What are some Scottish myths?"

"Why do you ask?" She questioned curiously.

"Well, I've been seeing some similarities, and I'm beginning to see a pattern. My guess, is that there may be some here that we can get ready for whatever is here."

"That seems like a valid assumption. I too, have been seeing some striking similarities." Mr. McCoy backed up.

Rahne looked a little taken back. So were I and the others.

"Well, there are the good folk; faeries, leprechauns, then shape shifters, a few other things."

Shape shifters? Well, that made sense. No wonder I couldn't understand them I don't understand Rahne in wolf form because she's actually not a wolf, she's a mutant.

Maybe I couldn't understand them because they weren't animals, they were something else.

"Okay, so keep an eye out for these things." Jean ordered us.

Kitty looked at Jubilee and whispered, "We're looking for Tinkerbell?"

Jubilee grinned but didn't say anything. Jean glared at then both.

"Take this seriously. We don't know how dangerous these things are."

"What? We'll get in trouble with people that are six inches tall?" Jubilee snorted.

"She's right. Don't underestimate the good folk. Not all of them are nice." Rahne said crossly. "You think Leprechauns just sit around and count gold on the edge of rainbows? Some leprechauns are worse than those stories about Transylvania vampires."

That kept us all quiet, wide eyed as she kept going.

"And the Faerie circles, if you walk into them at night, you'll be caught in their spell, and you'll dance until you die, or they do something else horrible to you! You have to tread carefully around the good folk. The Good folk are only good until you piss them off." She stopped to take a big breath. " And don't think that the good folk are the only ones you have to be careful of. They're not only called the good folk because they're nice, it's because they're nicer than everything else."

"Whoa." Was all Jubilee had to say on the matter.

"And Druids! Druids—"

"Calm down Rahne! We get it!" Jean said sharply.

"Sorry. I got a little carried away." She said sheepishly.

"Let's keep going, we should keep moving." Jean said, waving us forward. We all followed.

I let my mind wander again. Almost half of the creatures surrounding us were shape shifters. I decided not to divulge this to my companions, they were jumpy as it was, and the shape shifters didn't seem to be all that impressed, if the ones I actually caught sight of were any indication.

A big brown dog had watched us from the underbrush but then wandered off. A few birds chatted back in forth and stopped to glance at us but just started up again. A stag had moved out of the bushes and brazenly walked in front of us, gracefully ignoring but obviously pleased with the gasps from Jubilee, Rahne, and Kitty.

A few mice, some squirrels, some others creatures I didn't recognize, all of them were shape shifters. Personally, I envied the dog shifter. I want to see what it's like as a dog.

A twig broke behind us and I turned around fast to see…absolutely nothing. I turned back around to the front. Crepuscule had been walking a few feet ahead of me, and hadn't noticed me lagging. Neither had the rest. And they didn't seem to have heard the twig, either. I wondered if I wasn't being paranoid and kept walking.

But I still had the odd feeling, that if, just if, I had turned around a second faster, I could have seen what was there.

I walked a few feet behind Crepuscule, touching minds with a badger like creature that had been sleeping in a burrow under a log, of which I could actually understand and asked him to watch out behind me.

_Why?_ Was his gruff reply.

(I want to know if there's someone behind me. Or if I'm paranoid. I would be most pleased if you told me.)

_Will-O'-The-Wisp.__ They always follow travelers._

(Oh. Thank you very much.)

He grunted and went back to sleep.

Will-O'-The-Wisp. I think I've heard of them, they're a type of faerie, but I don't know what kind. They must be curious.

I really hoped it wouldn't get bad. Just let it stay curiosity.

A black shadow flashed through the forest just out of the corner of my eye. I almost jumped. There was no end to strange occurrences. And something told me that was no faerie.

Hoping it wasn't something worse, that never really helps. If anything, it tends to tip the scales in favor of worse, so I simply kept an eye out if it showed up again and tried to ignore the scuffling that I swore I heard behind me.

* * *

This may turn interesting, I'll have to pull out my old books on fairytales.

Asteria: Ha, thank you. I'm glad you like him. I tried to fit him to his form, dark fur, dark skin, that sort of thing, and I'm pleased it came out so well. I hope you like this chapter as well!

PrincessOfWildfire: Good! Curiosity satiating is part of the story's job! I'm glad you liked it and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Raliena: Herman thanks you and we hope you like the chapter!

Anon(girl): You are the second to mention Crepuscule's appeal. I'm glad I made him likeable. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Herman shall take the reviews! Watch out for faeries!


	28. Dryads and Pixies

A/N

I know some of you aren't familiar with the terms and names of faeries, so I'll try to put them up.

Buachailleen: mischevious male shape shifters, to use the readers digest version.

Sheoque: A type of faerie that like to keep children and grown-ups as pets, because they find them amusing.

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I jerked my head around just in time to see the shadow that had been following us for the last hour disappear into the bushes a couple hundred feet behind us. It moved pretty fast, whatever it was.

"Where are those little lights coming from?" Jean said angrily as she looked around. For the last fifteen minutes, we'd been seeing lights out of the corner of our eyes, only to have them vanish before we could look at them.

"Ooh, I wish they would just go away!" Kitty said swatting away the air as if that would make them stop. "This is so annoying!"

"Any ideas, Rahne?" Jubilee asked as she tried to ignore anything she thought she saw.

"I've heard about faerie lights, but don't know too much. I was raised where belief in the good folk was forbidden." Rahne said as she kept walking. "But I do know that faerie lights are supposed to lead you astray, or lure you into a false sense of security before the faerie kidnap you."

"I see one!" Jubilee yelled suddenly, forgetting everything that Rahne just said. "It's right there! Look!"

I glanced over to see a small light winding through the trees, pausing slightly in plain sight, then flying off so fast it left a stream of light behind it.

"Wow. Wanna see where it goes?"

"What part of 'lead you astray' don't you understand, Jubes?" Rahne said exasperatedly. "Just ignore them."

We kept walking through the forest, making a straight line for the mountain that had begun to loom.

As we kept walking, we passed a small clearing with a single stump. It looked like some sort of meeting ground of some sort, and all of us did our best to avoid stepping into the cropped grass.

**Danny.**

I froze in my tracks and turned slightly to look behind me. There was nothing there but slowly waving trees in the breeze.

I frowned and turned back to catch up with my friends.

Which were not there?

I stared into the open space ahead where my friends were walking. They weren't there. They weren't anywhere.

I whirled back around. Nothing there either.

I looked at the ground. My friends tracks stopped abruptly. "Great. Now what?"

Jean stopped to ask Jubilee what she had meant to say before she was cut off by Kitty, only to realize she was utterly alone. And that the forest had totally changed.

"Jubilee? Kitty? Hank? Anybody?"

All of the mutants and other found themselves in the same predicament, totally alone and not knowing where to go from there.

I climbed the tree quickly, careful not to upset the branches I heard life rustling in. When I was high enough, I peered off into the distance, trying to see if they managed to somehow get far enough ahead of me without track that I was just overreacting.

No such luck. No mutants or flying horse men in the vicinity.

I took the time to look not at the forest in front of the mountain, but at the forest to my left and right. I was surprised to see there was a lot of it. It was too easy to get stuck in forest like this. And lost to boot.

In fact, I think we had managed to go through the thinnest part of the forest.

"Is something wrong, little girl?"

I looked behind me and saw a woman sticking half out of the tree I was currently using as a lookout.

"Uh…no, not really. Sorry to bother you." I said, getting ready to take a leap off the branch if needed.

She was brown as the bark of the tree, and her hair was long, but it looked to be made of leaves, green and blue in color. She looked like she was wearing green clothing, of something I couldn't identify.

"How do you know you've bothered me? Are you assuming that I am a short tempered dryad?" Her voice was milky sweet, but I got the feeling that it was meant to disarm.

"I try not to assume anything. It gets me into trouble. I just figured you might not want me to be in your tree." I assumed it was her tree, even though I shouldn't.

"And how do you know it's my tree? Isn't that assuming?"

"I like to say it's putting my money on a safe bet. After all, you're sticking out of it." I pointed out. She looked behind her.

"Yes, I suppose you would come to that conclusion." She said before sinking a little back into her tree. "Now, why are using my tree?"

"I was looking for some people." I said honestly.

"People? So many people pass through these woods, and some of them even walk into the faerie enchantment that keeps them from leaving."

"There's an enchantment stopping people from leaving?" I stared at her.

"Of course. The faerie have claimed this as their domain for so long, you don't think they'd let everyone walk through it, do you?" She smiled, showing teeth that were milky sap white.

"I didn't know."

"No one does, until too late." She was grinning now.

"Well, I'd better go now." I said, eager to get away from her.

"Let me help you."

"No, that's alright, I'll---ack!" The ground rushed up to me, and the only thing that saved me from broken bones was the roll Mr. Logan taught us to fall safely from heights. I looked up at the moving branch and the Dryad. She looked vaguely disappointed that I hadn't died on impact. Then she shrugged and disappeared back into the tree. The tree itself stopped moving.

I quickly left the tree behind. It wasn't the best of company.

I didn't walk the way my friends did, that would only send me where they went, and I didn't want to go there just yet.

Instead, I walked into the thick of the forest, just past the little clearing with the stump. I didn't know where I thought I was going, but this was a good a direction as any.

The forest was full of birds that now looked at me with feigned indifference, and I knew that almost all of them were the shape shifters, because while I sensed them there, I couldn't understand them.

I ignored them and kept walking until I came onto a stream. The fish hid when they saw me, not wanting to be caught. Apparently a good bit of people did come into the forest, no matter what the Dryad had said, because fish only do that when they've connected man with fishing pole, which usually takes awhile.

I hop skipped across the stream on the little rocks, barely keeping my balance most of the time and almost falling in more times than I could count.

When I reached the other side, I was fairly dry and still with a good bit of dignity.

I climbed up a small hill and found myself looking right into a very dark, scary looking cave. I decided to go around it, whatever lived there didn't need a visit from this mutant.

I skirted the cave and kept walking through the woods.

A little tittering sound caught my ears a few feet behind me. I resisted the urge to turn around.

The thing that was laughing came closer and closer, laughing the entire time, as if there was some great joke only it could understand. When it was right next to my ear, just out of my sight, I stopped and feigned a yawn, and watched as a very small winged creature with short, magneta hair came flying into my eyesight, thinking my eyes were closed. When it saw that I actually saw it, it tried to fly off, but I caught it with my other hand.

"AIIIEEE! Let me go, you stupid fat, deaf cow! Don't squeeze me! Please don't squeeze me! Let me go!" She was slightly hysterical, and kept hitting my thumb with both hands, then sinking her teeth into my finger.

"Ow! Stop that!" I scolded her, barely keeping myself from letting go out of reflex. I was also careful not to squeeze. I could see why she was terrified. She was barely three inches tall, and I could crush her with ease.

She spat out a small drop of blood and bared her very sharp and pointy teeth at me. "I'll keep biting if you don't let go!"

"Why were you following me?"

"Go to hell!" Was her immediate response as she struggled to free herself. "I won't tell you anything. Cow!"

I watched as she quickly tired herself out. She couldn't spread her wings, I had on trapped under a finger, the other was flapping uselessly, unable to do much without the other.

"Are you calmed down now?" I asked the little magneta haired girl. She bared her teeth at me. "Good. Now, what were you doing?"

She didn't say anything.

"Okay, let me take a stab at it. You like following people around and basically making a nuisance of yourself. Am I close?"

She just glared at me. I took that as a yes.

"But I guess you've never been caught before. Well, I'm not going to squeeze you or keep you or anything, so if you promise to stop then I promise to let you go."

She looked faintly surprised at the offer. I gently untangled my fingers so I wouldn't damage the dragonfly-like wings that I had trapped and kept my fingers open so she could leave. She slowly floated up into the air, hovering suspiciously, then shot off into the undergrowth.

I patted my hands down and started walking again. I probably should have been more surprised, but with all the things I've seen in the last few weeks, it wasn't surprising me like it should.

I got maybe fifteen feet before the same little person suddenly flew in front of my face, making me jump back.

"What's your angle?" I got to see her much more clearly this time. She was dressed in a green vest top with a low neckline, and a skirt that separated into separate triangular pieces, like leaves. She actually looked a bit older than I was, and looked like her face was dabbed with sparkles.

"My angle?" I asked, recovering quickly.

"What do you get out of being nice to the pixies?"

"Nothing that I know of." I said walking past her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked as she flew beside me.

"I don't know, maybe I'll be helped later. In any case, it's not worth wondering about. I don't keep tallies on favors owed or received, thank you." I ducked below an overhanging branch, carefully staying low enough to miss the marsupial hanging off the underneath.

"You're weird."

"So I've been told." I said as I straightened up.

"You come into this forest, not looking to nab pixies and such for magic, you speak to beasts and brush the minds of the Buachailleen and you don't seem to care you're in danger from everything in these woods! What kind of a human are you?"

"One of the special few, I guess."

"Like the one the Sheoque caught with those hooded goblin rejects?"

"What one?" I said, curiosity perked. There couldn't be many goblin rejects around.

"It was some human with weird hair, it looked like a sea star got glued to his forehead." She said with shrugging shoulders. "Not as if you could find them anyway.

"Unless I had help, of course." I said raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you were going to say?"

"Maybe. Not everyday a pixie finds a human worth following around. You're certainly weird enough."

"Thanks. Now, who are the Sheoque and how can I reach them, if you're deciding to be so helpful?"

"Shouldn't we introduce each other, first?" She asked, flitting a couple inches from my nose.

"I'm Danny."

"How bland. I, am Roxanne." She said before she landed on my shoulder. "Now that we know each other, let's get going. I wanna see how you deal."

* * *

And how exactly will she deal? We'll figure out a bit later.

PrincessOfWildfire: Heh, if I made it obvious, it wouldn't be fun. We'll never know, will we? But anyway, I'm glad you liked the last chapter, I've put more faerie-related magic in this one, hope you like it!

Anon(girl):Glad you loved it, hope you like this one too!

Raliena: I may have one or two of them show up, but I like the variety, it's easier to write for. I hope you like the chapter!

Chrissy: Glad to see you back! Yes, I think Crepuscule is better suited for Adelia too. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and got your fill of faerie mischief for this one!

Herman will take the reviews! Make sure they don't get hijacked by curious faeries on the way!


	29. Sheoque

A/N

Sorry about the big lull, I got my computer taken in for virus checks and was out for awhile, but I worked really hard to get this written. And when I tried to post earlier, the site was down!

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"And what is the deal with these Sheoque?" I asked as I struggled to keep up with Roxanne.

"They like to kidnap humans for their own sordid reasons." She cackled.

"Eh…Should I ask what these reasons are?"

"Oh, I didn't know you were a voyeur, it's so hard to tell with you clunky beasts." She sniggered, somersaulting in the air.

"Never mind. It is much farther?"

"Maybe you should cut down on your grass intake."

I was really getting annoyed at her snide little comments. No pun intended.

"Aha! Look, there's their grove. Maybe if you show 'em a little leg they'll go easy on you."

"Look, you perverted little mosquito, I've had just about enough of you. Don't make me flick your sorry winged butt back to the flower you came from!"

"Bite me! Try that with me, and I'll make sure you never find your way out of this forest!"

"Wanna bet? I don't need direction from a gnat to find my way."

"And I don't plan on giving directions! I'll screw you over some other way!"

"Oh really? I'll—"

"What is this about?" A voice asked, interrupting me in mid-insult. I turned around to see a pretty blonde faerie floating above my head. She was wearing a blue dress and had big green eyes. She cocked her head at me, amused.

"Are you one of the Sheoque?" I asked her. She nodded, lightly flitting her almost butterfly like blue wings. "You wouldn't happen to have come across one of my friends, would you? A sort of tall human, with oddly colored and shaped hair? Answers to the name of Ray?

"Yes, we have." She chortled a little. "He is most amusing. He has an oddly shaped head."

"Right," I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from cracking a smile. "Well, I suppose I can't ask for my friend back, can I?"

"Oh." She looked very disappointed. "I was hoping I could keep him. Alright, I'll give him back."

"Oh, well…" I shot Roxanne a glance, as she was apparently whistling as she flitted just out of my reach, "That's very kind of you. I'm sorry I have to deprive you of him."

"Oh, that's alright. Humans wander in many times, and we always have at least one around." She turned and flew back to the large grove of trees almost totally obscured by bushes.

When she was gone, I turned on the pixie. "Sordid reasons, hunh?"

"Wouldn't have been as much fun if you knew." She said, sulkily. Then she brightened up. "Well, you got you boy, didn't you? Is he going to thank you for coming to his rescue?" She asked suggestively.

I looked at her in horror. "You have to be the most dirty minded person I've ever met."

"You've lived a sheltered life."

"I prefer it that way, I think." I said looking back to the grove.

"You are so boring. Boring name, boring ideas, even boring reactions. How do you live with yourself? Do you die of boredom everyday only to be reincarnated because your world needs your bland nothingness?"

I steadily started to ignore her at this point. She kept ramblimg on about boringness and blandness and me and I really didn't see fit to stop her. I mean, it's better she gets it out of her system now.

As I watched, the bushes rustled, and Ray tumbled out of the grove, his shirt ripped to shreds and his pants not much better.

"Ray!" I called and waved. He looked at me and I was struck with how tired he looked. But he immediately brightened up.

"Dann!" He ran, tripping over his own feet. "I never thought I'd see you or any of the others again. I was this close to blowing a gasket and setting everything on fire, I swear, just a little electricity and I would be frying everything."

"You look like you haven't slept in over a week."

"I haven't. They kept poking me, trying to get me to do stuff."

"Heartfelt, really this is." Roxanne said sarcastically as she left off her ranting to watch us.

"No one asked you." I said as I led Ray back through the forest, going anywhere that was away from that grove.

Ray was watching Roxanne like a hawk, obviously expecting her to act like the other ones.

"So where to now, your royal blandness?" She said a few feet above my head.

"Out of here." Was all I grunted as Ray stumbled along beside me.

"And how are you going to do that? You can't just walk into the faerie court and just expect them to help you." She said in a sing song manner.

"Maybe that's because no one's done it before." I said as we passed an old tree leaning across two rocks. "Maybe no one's tried a case in faerie court. Aside from faerie."

"Oh plenty of humans have gone to court, usually for messing with things they shouldn't have. Actually, all of them were sticking their noses where they didn't belong."

"Yes, but has one ever gone willingly to court to ask for help?"

"Of course they have. They've all been shot down." She said matter-of-factly.

Well, that's a killer. I don't think I could bribe the court, there must be some other way of dealing with this.

"Well then, what do you suggest?" I said exasperatedly.

"I thought you didn't want my advice. I thought you were going to get out on your own." She said snottily.

"Fine. I will. Come on Ray." I dragged Ray off by the arm.

"Hey! I'm not through! Come back here!" She began to follow us. I kept my mouth firmly shut.

"You know what? You have to be the two stupidest humans I have ever met! Yeah, that's right! You'll never get out of here alive! You'll run around in circles, hoping to find a way out, but you'll never find it!" She said, dipping low enough to look me in the eye. I looked through her, ignoring her completely.

"Don't think that I'll feel sorry, either, you two are just a piece of what comes through here!" She swirled around us once, then came back. "Just another couple of humans wiped off of this world, no skin off my nose, good riddance!"

I kept on going, even though Ray was beginning to muffle some angry retorts.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing! You're trying to make me feel bad!" Her voice was shrill now, and had something hidden in it that I recognized all to well. "It won't work!"

I heard the light rush of water in the distance and knew we were almost to the stream.

"FINE! If you don't want me around…then I'm leaving!" She said, with a sob in her voice. "I hate you! I hope you never get out of this place!"

She tore off into the woods, heading for the thickest part of it.

"Oh man, Dann…" Ray looked at me a little aghast. "Did…you have to do that?"

I blinked at him for a second, then pulled him in the direction of the stream. When we got there, I pulled off my pack and handed it to him. He didn't say anything, still upset with my apparent callousness.

It was callous. Unfeeling even. But I've dealt with this sort of thing before.

"There's food in the pack, drink from the water containers. I wouldn't eat or drink anything around here." I said as I reached my mind out slightly to track the pixie.

Ray just frowned. I ignored him and walked back into the forest.

I kept to the jagged path outlined in my mind's eye and didn't stray, in case I misstep and lose my sense of direction.

My trail led me to an old tree that leaned against another, barely standing against the weight. In the shadow of the fallen tree was a small, sobbing magneta haired figure.

I sat down a few feet away and watched as she cried. She acted exactly like a girl who felt totally alienated from all of her playmates, and didn't know how to deal with it. All of my siblings experienced it. Well, maybe not Chrissy, but I'm almost positive Donnie did.

After about twenty minutes of sobbing, she lifted her head and saw me.

"What the hell do you want?" She reproached.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why would you care?"

"I'm a caring person."

"I told you I hated you."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone's said that to me."

"Why?"

"Well, usually I end up being the back end of an ending tantrum and the convenient target."

"And you think I was having a tantrum?" She said disdainfully.

"Yes. You started out clamoring for attention. When you realized I wasn't talking to you, you got agitated and said things you may or may not regret, I don't know and won't speculate, and then, when I didn't show any reaction, you lost control and had your tantrum."

"You were being stupid."

"You were being obnoxious. But the fact is, it wasn't my being stupid that caused you to blow up. I'll let you think about what it was." I got up quickly, then regretted it when my knee that had sustained many injuries creaked in protest. "Ouch. In any case, you can come back to us if you want. If not, well, that's your decision. In any case, I have to go back to Ray before he walks off trying to find me and gets picked up by another amicable faerie bunch with sordid intentions."

I thought I heard a chuckle as I turned, but didn't turn back around to see if she was laughing. I just kept walking, tracing my steps back.

I got about halfway back when something zipped past me, then came floating back in front of my nose.

"You may think you know a whole bunch, but you don't know anything about me, and I'm going to stick with you until I prove it!" Roxanne said as she spread her arms challengingly. "You think that I'm acting like a child? I'll prove it to you that I'm not!"

"I'm sure you will." I said as I kept walking, following my mental path.

"Is that a challenge?"

"It's whatever you make it out to be."

"Okay, fine! I'll get you out of this forest, is that what you want? You think I can't do that? Well, joke's on you, 'cause I can! And then you'll have to eat your words!" She said triumphantly. "And you know what? I can get all of your friends out too!"

"Prove it." I said lazily, with a complete lack of interest.

"Fine. I will." She said as she shot off in the general direction of Ray and the stream.

I watched her go. The edges of my mouth turned up even though I was trying to hide a smile.

Dealing with children a great deal of my life has given me interesting insight to the human psyche. Apparently it works for both worlds.

Because she played herself right into my hands.

* * *

I guess there is a slightly more devious side to Danny. Must be part of the Dahk reflex.

Raliena: I've read a few of his books, the next time I take a library trip I'll try to snag that one as well, sounds fascinating. Hope you like the chapter!

PrincessOfWildfire: Thank you very much, I'm glad you think so, and it's a huge boost to my confidence, and my bigheadedness, but I'm sure I'll do something that will bring the swelling down. Yes, we can always suspect. I'm glad you liked the last chapte, and I hope you find this one just as good!

Anon(girl): Still at his job even if he gets a side interest. I don't know just yet. This story seems to be writing itself with only miniscule help from me. Anayway, I hope you like the chapter!

asp: Good, that was what I was aiming for. I'm glad you're beginning to understand! I hope you like the chapter, ad it steadily becomes clearer to you(glad to see you reviewing again, by the by).

Herman shall take the reviews, but make sure the Sheoque don't get them! They'll keep them for the sole purpose of amusing themselves!

I suppose it's about time to divulge a secret to you all. I am spreading my wings into different categories, most notably, the original works category. At fictionpress.com, I am known as Dahk Wit, and if you guys want to pop in and see the story, you are welcome to. If not, well, that's entirely up to you. Ta.


	30. Out of the Woods

A/N

Gosh, brain's having a hard time adjusting…I think I'm okay now though. Had a little bit of a brain overload writing, had to take a break for the good of all, sorry about the wait.

* * *

It hadn't taken as long as I thought to find the others.

An hour and a half after Roxanne got over her tantrum and had started 'proving' she could find the others, we were all gathered around the hollow trunk of a tree. The mutants had been hard to find, certainly harder than Crepuscule, who showed his distaste at being separated by magic by turning bestial and using his claws to trap little faeries and other beings. Apparently, the enchantment I messed up still had some power, because they couldn't get loose. He now was sitting languidly with his shoulder against the tree, threatening to uproot it with his weight if he leaned any harder.

His little pals were yelling something that, judging by the color of their faces and the way they kept hitting his claws with twigs, had to obscenities. He just regarded them idly as he waited for Roxanne to impart the plan she had for getting us out.

"Okay, so here's how it's going to work. The only way to get out of this enchanted forest is to either ask for favor by the king and queen, or use one of the old paths. But if you use the old paths, you'll end up in the highland." Roxanne pointed to the mountains just jutting over the trees. "The place is full of dragons and other monsters, so if you like being a buffet, go that way."

"We were planning on going there, and I doubt we will have much trouble." Mr. McCoy said. "We are pretty powerful in our own right."

"Powerful and stupid. Honestly. Alright, but if I take you down one of those paths, you have to keep looking ahead, or you'll be lost again, and I'm not going to help you again. Got it?"

"Yes, we understand perfectly." Wow, Mr. McCoy has far more patience than I do.

Roxanne flitted off. All of the mutants clapped the shoulder of Ray, congratulating him for finding the group. I made sure Crepuscule didn't fall behind as he flicked away his captures. Then he got up and seized his pack in his jaws and trotted after me, careful to keep his wings close to his body so they didn't interfere with his gait.

"Little weird seeing the four legged you again." I commented as Roxanne took charge over the entire group, calling orders and herding us through the forest.

His head jerked, and I grabbed his pack and held it so he could talk.

"Yes, but I feel more comfortable in this form, especially in this forest." He splayed his claws, flexing on of his paws. He seemed very pensive, looking at those claws. "I'm glad."

"Of what?" I asked as we walked within a few feet of Kitty and Rahne as they grilled Ray with questions about his imprisonment. I'm sure if it had been some of the other guys with him, the questions and comments would have been a little more off color.

"That I have two forms. I don't think I'd be able to live without my ability to fly, or this body." He said, still looking out of the corner of his eye at his paws.

"Yeah, we usually find out that the things we thought we could live without were the things we most needed." I said a little cryptically. He stared at me but didn't say anything.

"Okay! We're here!" Roxanne was floating over a small lily pad pond. "I can guide you to where the forest ends, but I'm not leaving. You can go be dragon and monster food if you want."

"We can ask no more." Mr. McCoy said, giving her his best smile, which was one that didn't show that many teeth and didn't look like he was trying to hide them.

"Good. When you're ready, we'll go."

"I'm ready right now! I want out of this place." Kitty voiced her opinion. The others all agreed. I had to agree myself. This place might be nice to visit when I know I won't be killed by an angry tree or when I know that my friends aren't in danger.

We filed after Roxanne, and I realized there was actually a path, barely noticeable with the way the bushes around us grew.

"Okay, when we get halfway through the forest, you have to be really quiet. Sometimes there are monsters down these paths and you don't want to alert them." Roxanne cautioned us as she flew above Jean's head.

Crepuscule's gait made him move a bit faster than I did, which caused him to end up a few feet in front, which was better in arrangements, because his nose and ears would detect an enemy faster than any of the others, with the exception of Mr. McCoy. And I, hearing constantly whatever there was to be heard from the beasts, would be able to tell if someone tried to sneak in from behind.

I hope.

Silence seemed a little heavy around all of us, even when Jubilee dropped back to walk with me, reasoning that we should try to have partners, just incase.

"What do you think about this whole thing?" She whispered, barely heard to my ears.

"I think that the sooner we collect everyone, the better, and the sooner that we get home, that's the best."

"Yeah, me too. You know, sometimes I get the creepiest feeling that someone is watching me sometimes."

"In this place they probably are." I said just as the black shadow once again passed into my peripheral vision. "Shit."

Jubilee's mouth opened as she goggled at me. "That's the first time I've heard you curse."

"There's something following us." Or me, I silently added. "And I can't sense it. Keep your eyes open."

"You cursed."

"Yeah, it happens. Get over it." I snapped. It was a little unnerving to see something and not sense it. That meant that it either wasn't there, which was only possible in hallucinations, or so I thought, or that it was doing something to not be noticed by animals, which happen to be the most observant things everywhere, especially where birds and rodents are concerned.

"What is it?" She finally got past my little slip of tongue and looked at the forest sideways, neither looking fully at the forest or taking her eyes off the group in front of us.

"I don't know. It's like a shadow. But it's not. But be ready for anything."

"Shouldn't we tell them?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because if it's like any sort of animal," which it would have to be, in order to shield itself, "it will pick off the weakest looking members and the ones a bit back from the pack. We're both. If it's a predator looking for a meal, we're too good to pass up. In any other case, it hasn't actually attacked us. It's just following, for all we know, we're in its territory and it's making sure we leave. But in any case, keep your eyes open."

"That's not a good idea not to tell them."

"Trust me, if you tell them, they'll stop, and that will make it angry, or make it cocky. Still prey is easier to eat then moving."

She stared at me. I didn't know what she was thinking, I was too busy keeping an eye out.

"I think you've changed."

I didn't say anything.

"I'm not sure I like it." She whispered quietly. I looked at her in surprise.

"Sorry." I said genuinely.

She shook her head.

"Move a little faster and catch up with the group. I'll be fine." I nudged her forward with my elbow, as my hands were still full of the pack I had rescued from Crepuscule's mouth. She immediately moved faster to catch up with Rahne.

I frowned. I didn't think I was changing. Maybe the way I said it unnerved her. Yes, that had to be it.

There it was again. The little pain was snaking across the side of the path, disappearing as fast as it appeared. What was it? If I tried to look at it, it seemed to become blurry and disappear. But when I didn't, and only saw it out of the corner of my eye, it almost had a shape.

I saw it again, slipping back the way we came, and it almost took every ounce of strength of will I had not to turn around and look at it and the brazen way I knew it had moved onto the path. It would be gone when I looked, and I would be in big trouble with the enchantments.

I think I liked my life better when the most urgent thing I had to deal with was getting away from Kitty and her vegetarianism. Or worrying how much I was improving in the way of fighting. Which wasn't much.

Or trying to figure out what a certain animal was and why it was sleeping in my hair. In the case of some rodents.

I sped up a little, getting that really nasty prickling feeling when someone knows something is following them. I had to pinch myself once when whatever it was broke a twig. It may have been deliberate.

Pretty soon, though, we were almost out of the forest and the inside of my cheek was bleeding because I had bit it when I felt something brush past me.

I'm really beginning to hate that forest.

"Alright, just through those two trees is the exit, try not to let the branches hit you on the way out." Roxanne said goodbye in her usual manner. We all hurried out, but I stopped to thank Roxanne.

"Don't mention it, and if I see you again, be careful, I might just set you on fire or something. Humans gotta be careful in our woods, you know."

"Thanks anyway. I'll see you around." I said before I walked out of the forest. I heard Roxanne calling behind me.

"Yeah, we'll see!" Then she was gone.

An interesting person. I steeled myself, now that there was no enchantments, and looked behind me.

A few leaves were drifting as they fell from branches. I looked up into the treetops and saw nothing.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Somehow, that didn't reassure me.

* * *

Ooh…Spooky!

Raliena: Glad you liked it, hope you like this chapter just as much!

AnonGirl88: Did you finally get to register? Hope you liked this chapter!

Chrissy: I'm glad you liked her-she was my first experiment in that sort of personality. Hope you like this chapter!

PrincessOfWildfire: You're a fury? That's interesting. Every time I take those tests I end up having to be something that's linked to water or some sort of shadow. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter, and thank you very much, I'm trying to bring in something a little different for this story. If I do something that's overdone, I want to poke at it with the parody stick, not try to act serious about it.

asp: That's alright, I know exactly how it was, it was annoying for me as well. My gremlins must be corroborating with yours. Hope you like this chapter!

Herman will take the reviews, and watch for those shadows!


	31. Confession

A/N

So…tired…didn't get a great night's sleep last night, so if this one's not as good as the rest, sorry, hope you enjoy it anyway.

* * *

Walking upwards through the foothills and finally reaching rocky paths that led up the mountain, we decided to bed down for the night, as the sun was already dipping dangerously low.

"Well, now that we're all settled," Mr. McCoy finished unpacking his bedroll. "I suggest we take stock in our situation, and try to figure out what to do next."

"If our groups was any indication, there are at least four people missing, and we still need to find a way home. On top of that, we may want to figure out why we've been brought here." Jean summarized quickly.

"Perhaps you'd like to fill some parts in, Danielle." Mr. McCoy said, settling his eyes on me.

His words startled me out of looking back the way we came and wondering if we'd been followed.

"What?" I asked, realizing fully what he meant.

"I'd like you to tell us what you know, as you seem to know more than the rest of us."

More eyes settled on me, questioning. All of the younger mutants looked at me, wondering what I could possibly have to contribute.

"Well…" I drew it out, wondering if I shouldn't try to deny, but I quickly realized it was far too late for that, and perhaps it was time to divulge a few secrets of my own. "We have been brought here, well, most of us, because we are of another world and are virgins."

"Are they so hard pressed for them here?" Ray asked Rahne, who abruptly swatted him on the back of the head with her hand.

"Now don't quote me on this," I said dryly, ignoring the angry retort from Ray, "But apparently some evil dude with an ego problem wants us for whatever reason, and that's who those gremlin things and that monster back in the woods belongs too. Somehow this ties in with the Morphos that have been flitting around. They're attracted to magic."

"How do you know all of this?" Jean asked me suspiciously.

"I have a source, who likes to remain anonymous." I said glancing out into the dusk again, not seeing anything but our own footprints and dust and rocks.

"I think we need to know, Danny."

"I can't tell you, because I barely know anything of him myself."

"Has one of the others been caught yet?" She demanded, eyes flashing. I could tell she was thinking about Scott.

"No. Not yet. But the bad guy is beginning to make some sort of preparations."

"How do you know?"

I rose an eyebrow at her and pointed to a far off tree that was loud with the cawing of some sort of bird. "They sense it, and they tell me."

"How do you know you can trust your anonymous source?" She asked.

"He hasn't steered me wrong yet." I shrugged.

"I can't believe this…Danny, how could you keep this sort of thing a secret to us?" She snapped.

"Would you believe me a week ago if I told?"

"Yes! I would!" She rubbed her temples with her fingers and glared. "I have lost all respect for you."

"Jean!" Jubilee squeaked.

"No! She withheld valuable information, which we could have used! She's been lying to us the entire time and has proved herself unworthy of my respect." She fumed.

This was worse than what I had thought it would be. It hurt, being told these things, and I felt a nasty knot in the pit of my stomach.

But I understand, this is what happens when information doesn't reach everyone's ears. I knew it was wrong not to say anything, but they may not have believed, and I would be in the same boat, making up ridiculous stories and lies and still losing respect. A lose-lose situation.

"Anything else you want to lie about?" Jean had been ranting while I was thinking, and I had missed over half of it.

I shook my head. I hadn't told the full story about the robed man, but I don't think she was in the mood to hear it, and I was feeling some resentment bubbling underneath the surface.

"There'd better not be. I'd be extremely disappointed in you, and I don't know if it's possible to be more disappointed in you than I am already. Everyone get some sleep, except you Rahne, and you Kitty. You guys take first watch and wake Mr. McCoy and I up in two hours."

No one brought up the subject of dinner, and the tension was so thick, one could cut it with a knife. I was stinging from the sharp rebukes, but my face was nothing but calm. I relaxed myself completely and curled up on my bedroll, looking up at the stars and watching the way they seemed to twinkle slowly. I closed my eyes.

I opened them several hours later. A few glances determined Jean still in her bedroll, Mr. McCoy slumped next to a rock, looking out into the distance, and the two previous guards sleeping. I watched Mr. McCoy with hooded eyes until I realized he was asleep too.

I got up immediately. No, it wasn't Him, I could still hear the birds and bugs, but it was unusual for Mr. McCoy to shirk in anything. The only way would have been a spell, but I already crossed him off the list. And the animals didn't seem the least perturbed, so it couldn't have been two legged or otherwise. Of course, it had been a tough time, he could have just fallen asleep.

I padded over to him, looking him over. Yes, he was just asleep. He must have nodded off while looking out across the highlands

I drew away from the group and walked up the path that winded through the stony rocks. I caught myself from tripping about six times, but soon left them behind.

Part of me wanted to screech out words that would make any 'nice' girl cringe. I was boiling inside, but one couldn't tell very well. I think I may have come off as uncaring to Jean, and that made her more angry.

My bare feet collected dust from the ground, kicking it off as my feet landed. I was glad I didn't have shoes, it made my feet seem more sure of themselves, for whatever reason. As long as I didn't walk straight into a briar patch or some other prickly seed, I think I'll be alright.

The top of the mound I managed to get to was a twenty minute walk from our campsite. So far, no predators of any kind, which was odd for the middle of the night. There should be wild dogs or some other such carnivore. But none are in the immediate vicinity, probably because of the oddly smelling two leggers. Strange how they don't smell me as one of the group. It made me feel oddly detached.

From here I could see from several miles around-it was on of the higher hills of the highland.

I squinted across the direction we were headed, or had been headed, and saw a bunch of stones. They looked arranged, like a sort of alternate Stonehenge. I glanced back and saw Mr. McCoy had not stirred, and there were still no enemies in thought or sight.

Which doesn't mean they aren't there, I reminded myself. I have to remember the shadow.

But I find it odd that I see the shadow and the others haven't seen it either, even though it darted in the trees beside them. They should have seen it, but no one mentioned it.

I slid down the hill in the direction of the stones. It took me about an hour to reach them.

They were large stone slabs, with writing on them that I could barely see from the moonlight filtering from the clouds above. The writing was foreign to me.

I snorted. My kingdom for someone who can read this, mutant, human or otherwise.

I moved onto another slab. It looked like it had a different language. "Someone who could read every language would have a field day." I muttered after I looked over several other slabs, all with different looking writing.

After awhile I sighed and turned to go back to camp. I don't want to give them anymore to distrust me about.

I had almost gotten out of the stones when I felt something brush past. I whipped around in time to see a shadow disappear from the sight in the corner of my eye.

"I know you, don't I?" I murmured, trying to catch sight of it again. It was the same one, I believe as the one that followed me in the forest. It was being pretty bold.

After ten minutes, I slowly turned and began climbing the path again to get on the other side of the hill, back to the camp. The moonlight lit the way, and I kept alert, incase it followed. I wasn't trying to feed myself delusions that it might be a trick of the eyes. I was certain that it was something that was there, it was just being slippery.

I saw it again as I began the descent in front of Mr. McCoy, careful not to misstep and wake him up. It slid in and out of my vision.

When I got down to the camp, I bent down to scratch my heel, and while I was down there I picked up a large sized rock, about the size of my palm.

I straightened up, cracking my back a little as I stretched, waiting for my little friend to come closer. I watched it for about twenty seconds before I swung around fast and let the rock fly.

Stones and pebbles fell down the slope, and my rock hit nothing, but I had seen by the way the shadow, which almost had a shape to my eyes before it disappeared, stiffen in surprise before blazing away. It was too fast to watch.

"What are you doing?" Mr. McCoy rumbled behind me.

I looked behind me at him. Then I squinted back at the spot where the shadow had been.

"I saw something."

"What?"

"I don't know. I don't think it will do anything, though, I think I scared it away. I'm going to sleep." I said, before returning to my bedroll.

* * *

Looks like Danny has another thing following her around.

Asteria: Heh, thank you! I was wondering if anyone caught the connection. I hope you like the story!

AnonGirl88: Looks like you're going to have to restock on nutmeg. Good luck with that. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

PrincessOfWildfire: Really? I think my mythical beast is dragon, I'm not sure of anything else as of yet though. Glad you liked the last chapter, hope you like this one as well.

asp: Poor Danny, she changes as much mentally as Julian physically. Anyway, I'll try to reveal more as time passes. Hope you like the chapter!

Raliena: Well, she was out of the woods, I think she was okay. Well, I hope to see you reviewing when you come back, have fun!

Herman shall take the reviews around his mini-alternate Stonehenge!


	32. Shadowed Valley

A/N

Yay! I am feeling much better, having gotten more sleep and such, but I have to warn you that next week starts band practice, so I may be having trouble updating regularly. Will try my best to keep it up, though.

* * *

When we all got up in the morning it was decided that we couldn't decide anything right away.

Can't say I'm surprised.

So Jean and Mr. McCoy, laden with the new information I imparted to them, decided that if we kept on going through the highlands we should probably find some sort of settlement. And when we find said settlement, we must ask one of two things: Have you seen our comrades or do you know where the Soul King is?

Jean and Mr. McCoy quickly wheedled as much information as they could out of me when we started walking that morning. After they were satisfied that I wasn't holding anything of value, I was dismissed to the back of the group to help watch for trouble. Or to keep out of trouble. They weren't specific which.

I feel as if I'm being slightly disillusioned. But it does no good to worry about things that, in the scheme of things, are totally irrelevant.

I think that when this is over, I need to have a council with a mute dog about my problems. Talking to a person that listens and rarely interrupts is fabulous therapy.

No birds or animals were following me. I think that even though I feel as if nothing mattered, my mood was a little foul.

I rubbed my temple. It was beginning to smart through excessive thinking.

"A wolf asked you to love him?" Ray asked, laughing. Rahne sulked.

"It's not funny Ray."

Actually, it was, just not to her. I grinned a little at them. Jean was floating a few feet above the ground, trying to get a bird's eye view of the area around us, and I thought I caught her smile a little too.

Well, at least I know she still retains a sense of humor.

"Aha! There's a village!" She pointed right into a large mound of rock and dirt.

"They must be small people." Jubilee whispered.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Ray muttered.

"No, after the mound! In a valley, there's a little village! I can hear the psyches!" She said triumphantly.

She made us move forward as quickly as possible, which wasn't all that fast, since most of us were not morning people.

Crepuscule hung back a bit until I caught up with him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You are upset, I think. Insects tend to stop chirping while you walk by and start up again when you are a safe distance away."

"Do they?" I hadn't even realized. But glancing around I realized that the insects were keeping silent. "That's not good. If they don't chirp we'll attract things."

"I doubt we'll attract anything as of yet. Do you wish to talk about it?"

"No, I'll be fine, I just don't like to be scolded. I'm a teenager and should be beyond it. But I did do something wrong, and now I'll live with the consequence."

"You are very resigned." He seemed a little disappointed.

"I have to be. Everyone here has more experience than I do, and I'm practically useless now, except for intelligence gathering, and right now they don't trust me, which makes me even less useful. So, in retrospect, I'm basically deadweight."

"It's not that bad." He looked aghast.

I didn't answer that. In truth, I didn't trust myself to open my mouth. I was beginning to see it, the changes I was making. I didn't have to sort through two emotions anymore, didn't have to pick the nicer of the two. I guess…I wasn't quite a full person before I came. Now I was almost there, and it was scary, to be acting so different.

And not being able to hide it.

"Danny, I don't think they believe of you this way. You are their friend." He persisted. I nodded.

"You're right. I'm just going through a teenage time, don't worry about me, we're always angsty." I forced a grin on my face (believable, none the less) and he seemed relieved. "I'll be just fine."

He seemed happy with this, and when Mr. McCoy called him up there to ask him questions about some of the flora, which he didn't know anything about, he seemed much more relaxed.

I was feeling a bit better too. Good to know someone cares; it just cuts through the teenage angst. The insect noticed my mood brightening and began to chirp again.

Just before noon we reached the lip of the valley. It was deep, and the valley lay hidden underneath a massive shadow from the combined mountainous hills.

"This is creepy." Rahne said. I was inclined to agree.

There were animals in the valley, but they spoke with hushed voices, as if afraid they'd wake up something.

The village was deep into the valley, next to a small river that seemed to be as quiet as the animals, and could barely be seen except as a mass of very dark buildings.

"Okay, I think we should walk around." Ray said suddenly. "This is way too creepy, and I've had way too much magic this time around life."

"We can't, it'll take too long. And what if one of the guys is in there?" Kitty butted in, stopping Jubilee from speaking her piece, "We owe it to them to go down there." She paused for a moment. "If course, we could, like, leave a small force behind, just in case…"

"Great Kitty," Jean rolled her eyes. "Look, we don't know what's in these hills. It's best if we just stay together. Besides, there are people down there, and they can help us.

"If they aren't man hunters or something." Ray muttered.

"Then you shouldn't have a problem." Kitty retorted. Ray was about ready to fire back when Mr. McCoy grabbed them both and separated them.

"Let's try to keep our heads about us, shall we?" He set them on the ground at either side of him.

"If we try to go around we don't know when or where we'll see another village. We have to make the most of the opportunity we've been given." Jean pointed out.

"Well, if Jean wants to do this, we have no choice." Jubilee said.

"What does that mean?!" Jean asked hastily.

"Nothing. Let's go." Jubilee started down the rocky slope. "You coming? Come on!"

The rest of us followed, most of us looking distinctly uneasy.

I stepped carefully around the rocks, not wanting to cut my feet. There was an odd murmur, not quite…alive, it seemed like, that permeated the background noise. All in all, it was making me distinctly suspicious of the village that Jean was talking about.

A little lizard watched us from the top of a rock. I gave it a little salute as I passed, and it flicked it's tongue in reply. It, too, seemed unwilling to break the whisper that every creature spoke under.

Strange.

We finally got to the gently rolling grass of the valley and started walking towards the village, which still looked pretty dark. I kept seeing animals peeking out at us from burrows and underneath tall grass.

None of us talked as we walked. It seemed wrong to.

Pretty soon we came across an old fence that had been partially destroyed with age. In the distance, I saw some wooly, horned creatures appearing to eat the grass.

"There's something wrong here." I muttered. "I just can't put my finger on it."

"What?" Jubilee asked, not hearing me.

"Nothing, just talking to myself." I said.

"Do it a little quieter?" She turned back to Jean, who was about to step foot into the village.

There was a collective sigh of relief as Jean walked in and was not attacked by nameless monsters.

We all walked in after her, and found ourselves in what looked like a town square. A deserted town square at that.

"It's quiet. Too quiet." Ray said cutely. He was immediately swatted on the back of his head by three girls.

"Shut up, Clint."

"Was that Clint Eastwood?"

"I don't know. Jean?"

"I hit him because he was being stupid, I don't know your guys' reasoning." Then she saw something. "Hey…Hey! You!"

A man was leaving a house, and blinked at us owlishly. "Eh? What do you want?" He lit a lamp, which brightened up the square considerably. The shadows made it seem as if the place was wreathed in eternal night or something. Strange how they seemed to be darkest here, and things still grew in the valley.

"We'd like to know where we are, for starters."

"Welcome to the Spring's End. Anything else? Inn's behind you."

"Where is everyone?" She persisted. The man wanted to get away from her.

"Not a lot of people here, probably at the mayor's house figuring up the wages for the croppers. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a store to tend. Young ones will want candy, I'll have to give it to them." He walked off with a slight limp.

"Okay." Jean crossed her arms. "Let's go see about that Inn."

We located it without difficulty. It was a massive old building, and at first glance, it appeared to be falling down, dilapidated. But I blinked, and when I looked at it again, it was still in good repair.

I frowned. It must have been a trick of the light. Or no light.

I was further assured I had just been seeing things when we walked in and we were surrounded by what looked like first class. Everything was good looking rugs and chairs, and what looked like a telephone.

"Wow, you think we can call home on that?" Kitty asked, looking at the porcelain phone.

"It would be hard to hold it up to your ear for a long time." Jubilee said. "It must be heavy."

"May I help you young ladies and gentlemen?" A big woman asked from behind the booth.

"We'd like some rooms. How much?" Jean fingered a small bag Adelia had given her.

"Not money." She said with a sweet smile. "Tell me some stories and I'll let you stay here. Make them good, and I'll set you up in the suites."

"Stories?" Jean could have been knocked over with a feather.

"Of course. We don't get a lot of company around here. We're all starved for a little information on the outside world."

"Why?" Jean was dumbfounded.

"Because. Now, are you going to tell me some stories, or am I throwing you all out on your backsides?"

* * *

Well, that's certainly interesting, isn't it?

AnonGirl88:Glad you're having fun. Hope you like the chapter1

PrincessOfWildfire: Heh, thank you. I am feeling much better. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and think the shadow is creepy, and I hope you like this chapter just as much as the other ones.

asp: I'm sure she's just worried and such. Though I'm sure she'll get over herself somehow. Anyway, glad you liked the last chapter! Hope you like this one too!

Herman shall take the reviews, and you don't need to tell him stories to do it…


	33. Shadow stories and Shadow visitor

A/N

I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry. I've been very busy with band camp, but the good news is that the bigger half only has about a half week more, so I should have more time to write soon! I hope you like the chapter (took me over two days to finish) and please have patience with me! I do try!

* * *

The Innkeeper listened to the (true) yarn Jean spun about our adventures thus far. Thankfully, she was a good storyteller, which surprised more people than me, and we managed to get very good rooms. But before we left, the Woman insisted on telling us some stories.

"The night is very young! Have a seat." She wouldn't take no for an answer and pretty soon we were all sitting in a circle while she began her story.

"This village wasn't always here, you know. No village ever is. A while back, farther back than I've had years, some poor sap of a wizard was recruited by a local fiefdom to locate a good spot for a good place to build a summer retreat for the local ruling family. He wandered far and wide, until he came to a darkened valley. He went down into the valley to gather water, as he had just run out, and somewhere found some sort of power, which he felt compelled to protect. Now, the wizard wasn't a very good wizard, but anyone who has magic powers or is extremely sensitive, like the Growlers, they don't have any magic in any of them, but they can still sniff out enchantments, can find sources of power if they try to look hard enough. But I get off the subject." She took a deep breath.

"The wizard was not a good wizard, but somehow he managed to use some sort of powerful enchantment, one to contain and protect the power source. Then, to further protect, he went out and hand picked several families and various other peoples, and settled them within the borders of his enchantment. Now, they say that the power source warped the people somehow, and several went insane. Others were affected in different ways. Other strange stories came from the time before myself. But in all of my life, I have never seen any strange happenings, or any insane people, except the old man that plants the dead flowers at the Town Hall. But he's old, and it's expected. Anyway, that's the story of the founding of the town, short, sweet, and to the point."

"It was very interesting." Jean said enthusiastically. I couldn't tell if she was faking or not.

"Don't know if it's exactly true, but it's a pretty tale, is it not? If you have time, I can tell you about some stories about demons that have been found trying to get into town."

"Perhaps another time, my friends and I are very tired." Jean declined, and the Inkeeper gracefully took it in stride, and showed us to our rooms. All of us got a room apiece, and we were given directions to make as much noise as possible if something went wrong in our rooms.

I set the bag down by the side of my bed and looked around the room. The Inn barely has enough rooms for each of us to have a room, which makes me wonder exactly how many people she expects, and where they will be placed.

I looked out the window. I had been put up on the second floor, and I could see a good bit of the town from here.

Interesting how she referred to it as a village. Maybe it was familiarity.

People were beginning to filter out into the streets. I guess whatever thing they had been at was over. Some of them looked over at the Inn, and I spotted some people talking happily with the lady Inn keeper. Judging by the way they acted, I would say they thought of us as oddities, but not really important. Gossip.

I tapped my fingers on the windowsill and opened the window halfway, letting in the breeze. The air had a strange smell to it. I bet if I had Mr. Logan's nose, I could smell it better, and maybe figure out what it was, but I didn't, so I pushed it aside. Things were bound to be strange in a world that boasted so many different species.

I turned away from the window with a sigh. The others were probably sleeping, but I just couldn't. Too much energy when I should be exhausted from walking, in bare feet no less.

I started to pace the floor, unconsciously walking in my own footsteps on the return trip across the room.

I feel uneasy. Anxious.

It's because the voices, the background, is muffled. It's not natural to be so hushed. Not even in that Silent Flower field were they so quiet. I can still hear them, but it's so inaudible. Not even insects chirped. It was creepy.

Like an abandoned temple with fresh bloodstains, where animals refuse to tread.

I frowned at the thought. I had almost forgotten about the temple. According to stories I've heard of, sacrifices are supposed to be used to bring evil spirits into the world, which meant that someone from my world must have been doing something, which doesn't make sense. What would they gain from this? As far as I understand, bad things happening here would cause something of the like bad home, so…Why?

I turned on my heel when I reached the wide open window again, and walked down the length of the room, before freezing at the other end.

I looked over my shoulder at the window. Yes, it was open all the way. Strange, when I only opened it halfway. I turned my head back and frowned at the wall. I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth.

I have an inkling of who my little visitor is. Someone silent, fast. Fast enough to be out of sight by the time I turn my head. Someone quiet enough to raise a window up and sneak in, not making any noise as they move across the floor. Someone that tends to follow me around.

I turned back around and set my back firmly against the wall and looked around the room carefully for anything out of place.

Not that I would have noticed. I've only been in the room for what, twenty minutes, more? I wouldn't notice it unless it was my own things or if it was something like the bed falling over on its side.

I tapped my foot on the floor and stepped away from the wall. A glance at the floor absolved it of any creature, under the bed or in plain sight.

I reached the window again and closed it calmly. Freaking out will not help me in the long run. And in my …I would say experience, but I have never had experience in this sort of matter. Common sense maybe?

Anyway, if I acted totally calm and aware, it would unsettle the other.

I locked the little window and turned around. Again, no change I could see. I started to pace again.

I managed to get halfway across the floor when the section in front of me blinked, BLINKED out of existence.

I swore and stumbled, stubbing my foot on the floor. I swore again as tears stung my eyes, and I hopped backwards, taking my eyes off the floor. When I found my balance and managed to put my smarting foot down on the floor again, I looked again at the section and was very surprised to find it was back in its original state, looking perfectly innocent.

"That was not natural." I said as I slid down on my knees and began feeling around the floor. It seemed solid enough.

"He said you were sensitive to your surroundings. He didn't say how sensitive." A voice commented above me.

I froze, staring at my outstretched hand. The voice was male, and judging by the way he spoke and the direction he spoke from, he was sitting on or standing next to the bed, and he's been sent after me.

"I'm impressed. Not many people, even powerful magic users, would have noticed the break. You've noticed two, by my count."

I got up slowly, straightening up and flexing the stiffness out of my wrist. I turned very slowly to look at the being in my room.

He was sitting on my bed, looking the picture on innocence, which almost threw me off. I quickly got reoriented and studied him a little more closely.

He was actually…short. The only short guys I know Are Jamie and Julian. Even Mr. Logan is taller than me. But this guy only looked maybe three or four inches bigger than me, thought that could change if he stood up, I'm not the best judge. He had blonde hair, which seemed to be different than human hair, almost a sort of natural spikeyness; I don't know how to explain it any other way. His eyes were blue, but a very dark sort of blue. And while they looked wide and innocent, I could tell that he was calculating things behind them. He wasn't big across, not like someone who lifted weights everyday since they were ten, but someone who had tight muscle, someone who didn't put on muscle in bulk. Dangling from one ear, his left, was an earring in the shape of a triangle, looking like it was made of crystal. His clothes were oddly human, more like something I would see guys wear back home, not like here. He was wearing a black T-shirt and dark colored pants.

Shadow.

"You've been following me around."

"I have. You are so smart! But then again, I did let you see me." He flashed a half smile, not actually showing any teeth.

"Why?"

"Well, I got bored of playing invisible man, and I figured I was going to have to talk to you sometime, so why not let you know I was here?"

"No, why were you following me?" I said patiently.

"Following you?" He repeated in wonder.

I bit down on my back teeth and tried not get annoyed. "Yes."

"I don't know what you mean."

"You followed me in the Faerie Forest. You've been following me up the Highlands, where I threw a rock at you. You admitted to it a few seconds ago. Remember now?"

"Not in the least. Are you sure you don't hear things? I heard selective hearing is very common in people your age."

"You don't look overly older than me."

"Why thank you! That's one of the nicest compliments anyone has ever given me." He winked at me. "And getting it from such a cute girl like you makes it even better."

I stepped back in surprise. No one ever handed me a compliment like that before. I blinked at him, not sure how to react.

"Of course, I have been admiring you from afar for awhile now, ever since the Blue Flower Forest…"

"So you have been following me!" I snapped, peeved at myself for letting myself get sidetracked.

"Did I say that? Absolutely not. I said I admire you from afar."

"What are you, some sort of pathetic stalker?" I bristled.

"You are too quick to anger, my dearest. Has any one told you that you look adorable when you're angry?"

"Stop that!" I said, beginning to blush.

"Stop what?" He asked innocently.

"Stop…complimenting me!"

"How interesting. I never met anyone that didn't like to be complimented before. It should be fun traveling with you."

"I never said you could." I said, getting my voice under control.

"I never asked. So we're even. Oh, by the by, my name is Dexianaroth. Dexroth for short, Dex for shorter. All of my friends and exasperated people call me Dex. You'll probably be one of the two at all times, so don't hesitate."

"I don't like you." I gritted out.

He grinned. "You will. I promise, I won't let you not like me. Oh, and some friendly advice, from my voice to your hearing—I wouldn't stay here any longer than you have to. The people here aren't all they appear to be, as you've already gotten an inkling with your little adventure with your floor."

"What do you mean?" I said, glancing out the window at the wandering people.

When I got no answer, I turned back and saw that Dex had disappeared. And my door was open. I ran out of the room and looked around. He wasn't there.

I shook my head and frowned. I looked down the hall where Jean was. I wonder what she would say now that I had my elusive visitor?

Probably would be less than pleased with the entire affair. But it might be better to tell her anyway.

I walked over to her door and knocked.

* * *

I know quite a few of you recognize him. I was looking through old reviews and came across so many that said I should write him in, and I finally got around to it.

Asteria: Hope that gave you an inkling. Hope you enjoyed it!

PrincessOfWildfire: Glad you like the village, it took me a little bit of thought. I like the way it came out. I hope you like this chapter, and I hope you like the new addition to the cast.

AnonGirl88: Glad you liked it. Stay tough against those dudes!

Chrissy: I have never seen that movie. I might have too. Was it any good? I hope you liked the chapter!

asp: I love that song! The guitar totally rocks. I hope you like the chapter!

Raliena: Herman says hi. I hope you like the chapter!

Herman will take the reviews! He apologizes with me for the update delay!


	34. Out of the Shadowed valley

A/N

I know, I know, before any of you start getting onto me about the late update, I'd like to give you all a few valid excuses. First, I'm down a computer. Second, I jut suffered from the worst disinterest I've ever had with writing. The worst of that is over now, I think, so I should be okay. Thirdly, the one computer I do have, has been shared between three people. Every time I had any sort of inspiration, the computer was occupied. I'm sorry, I know I haven't updated in quite awhile, the longest I have never updated, and I hope you'll forgive me. Oh, and this chapter may not be all that up to my usual standard, it took me over a week to write it, so bear with me guys.

* * *

"Any idea why he gave us the warning?"

"No."

"Well. Good job, Danny, I'm glad you came to me with this. I'll tell the others. We'll stay here for a few more hours, and then we're leaving. I've been getting creepy vibes from this place ever since I got here." Jean looked out the window. "If it weren't for the fact the others seem so glad to have such a nice place to sleep, I'd be gone by now. Tell me if you get another visit from this guy, alright?"

"Sure." I said, glancing back towards the door, wondering if he'd pop up again.

We were keeping remarkably civil about this. I was surprised.

"I'm going to go back to my room now."

"Alright, but remember, in three hours you'd better pack, because we're moving out."

I nodded and walked out. I stepped carefully over the woodwork, waiting for some piece of the floor to disappear suddenly so I could rain a few expletives over it.

When I got back to my room I crawled into bed and decided to sleep. It wasn't as if I had anything better to do.

I was awake for the next hour and a half before I resigned myself to absolutely no sleep.

I folded my hand under my head and stared at the ceiling. Boring.

I rolled off the bed and wandered over to the window. It was still closed, so I assume that means that my shadowy pursuer hasn't come back. He doesn't seem the type to be overly sneaky, more like brazenly cocky. He would want me to know that he'd been sneaking around, probably because he knew it would annoy me.

The sky was still dark, and lanterns were still burning merrily on the streets. Other than the fact that flowers in the pots next door appeared to be growing without any light, it seemed pretty normal.

I wonder what he meant by being not what they appeared to be? As far as I knew, the people here seemed fairly normal, sans the obvious oddities of taking stories as payment and living in darkness everyday.

But I guess if people live in darkness everyday they tend to get used to it, and don't seem bothered by it anymore. And if one is truly starved for outside life, information is as good a payment as any.

I tapped the sill absentmindedly.

Personally, I think this place can stay a mystery to its own. There are some places that just shouldn't be messed with, especially by a bunch of people that barely know their way around this world.

A sudden knocking at my door caused me to jump. I padded over and opened it, looking right into Rahne's face.

"Jean says we gotta leave."

"Yeah." I went back to pick up my bag and walked out of the room.

"You knew?"

"You could say I had insider information. I though we still had an hour left, though."

"That was before Kitty saw the owner of this place talking to some weirdoes. Jean thinks we should beat it before something goes wrong."

"Good idea. Where is she?"

"Outside. They're waiting for us."

We snuck outside relatively easily, considering the owner was nowhere to be seen, which was odd, I would have thought she was glued to her inn.

Once outside, we met up with the group and started sneaking quietly out of the town.

"Okay, anyone wanna explain now that we're out why we're acting so spy gung ho? I was going to sleep in a bed for the first since I've been kidnapped by people that would make the lollipop guild into all star basketball players!"

"Keep it down, Ray." Mr. McCoy boomed from the front of our group. "We still aren't out of the valley yet."

Ray started grumbling but stayed quiet. We got past the plains with little trouble or noise, and about an hour after we had left we reached the rocky beginnings of a sharp incline that led out of the valley.

"Do you guys hear that?" Rahne hissed. I stopped and listened.

Clanking. Something massive was climbing down the slope.

"Hide!" Jean snapped out.

"Where?" Jubilee asked. She was right, there wasn't a lot of places to hide, and we were on the gray parts of the shadow- the sun was shining over the valley.

This makes me wonder if time was going a little fast. The sun is definitely not in the right position for the space of a few hours.

We all managed to scrunch into a slightly darker shadow that offered us absolutely no cover and made us stick out like a bunch of sore thumbs.

"This is the last time I try to hide in some valley." Kitty grumbled.

"You were born in a valley, you should know all the hiding spaces!" Jubilee quipped while she tried to get lower to the ground.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kitty whispered back annoyed.

"Will you two be quiet? They'll hear us!" Jean said suddenly.

"Who?"

"Them!" She pointed.

Eight feet tall, covered in spikes, carrying spiked clubs and blank shields…yes, I've see these creatures before.

The massive soldiers, four in a straight line, clanked down the slope. A low whine emitted from one of the ones in the middle, the kind of noise that made me want to cover my ears. But I didn't move.

They didn't even look at us as the walked past. They were heading straight towards the village.

"Oh no." Jean whispered. "They're looking for us. What will they do when they find out we aren't there?"

"Maybe they'll just leave?" Kitty said hopefully.

"Not likely." Crepuscule commented. "They will search the village, and if that means burning it to the ground, they will."

"Oh man, don't tell me we have to fight those things!" Kitty moaned.

"Uh…if we're going to we're going to have to run after them, for all that stuff they have on they move pretty fast." Ray pointed out.

"They seem to be quite single minded for the weaponry they wield. They should have seen us." Mr. McCoy mused.

"Maybe they're just stupid." Kitty said.

"I don't want to be the one that finds out." I muttered.

"What, scared?" Ray asked, and then realized what an incredibly stupid question that was and saved himself from outside abuse by hitting himself in the forehead. "Sorry."

"You all go ahead!" Jean got up and started flying after the small force.

"…Well, you heard her!"

"Jubilee! We have to go after her!"

"Can I ask why?"

"Absolutely not! We can't just let her go sacrifice herself to save people without making an attempt to help! Come on!" Kitty got up and ran after the airborne Jean.

"Fine. Everyone knows if Jean jumps off a bridge everyone else would too. Let's go!" Jubilee ran after them.

After about a half minute, the rest of us barreled out of the hiding spot and ran hot on Jubilee's heels. Jean had already engaged the enemy, with little results.

Very little results. They weren't even flinching. In fact, one of them had begun to swing it's club in circles and was ready to turn her into hamburger. Luckily Kitty ran through him, and in its eagerness to hit Kitty and jean at the same time the club went wide and slammed into the face of one of its pals.

"Hey, let's just let Kitty and Jean make them hit each other! Then nobody will get hurt!" Ray yelled as he used electricity to blast on of the armored creatures in the chest.

However, this seemed to be doing very little overall. They got more danger from each other than any of us, including Crepuscule in his full monster form, trying to knock one of the armed soldiers to the ground.

I tried to catch some attention and be a diversion, but I wasn't doing all that well. The animals here had vacated the area and had slunk off elsewhere, leaving me absolutely no leverage.

"You all are making too much noise." Growled a voice. I ducked down and looked behind me.

There was a crowd of people just standing there, glaring.

Where did they come from? I recognized a few from the town, but they could not have gotten here that fast.

"Now, you'd better leave, or suffer the consequences." The front man sounded deadly serious.

The armored soldiers paid no attention to the villagers, but I grabbed Jubilee, the closest person to me at the time, by the arm and hauled her out of the fight.

"I don't think we want to suffer the consequences." I told her in a low voice.

"What are they gonna do? Grab torches, wave farming equipment at us?"

"That's the kind of thinking that gets mutants like us lynched. Let's get out of here."

**/Everybody! Get out of the fight and run, I'm getting bad feelings/**

We both looked at each other. The others had already started to run back in the direction we had come from.

"Well, if Jean has bad vibes, then we should run."

"Oh, so my advice isn't good enough?" I said sarcastically as we ran after the others, almost getting cut off by two soldiers as they rushed to block us.

"Geez! These things must be twice as fast as us."

"And yet somehow we still manage to get away…DUCK!" The club of one of the soldiers whistled over the spot our necks used to be.

"I think we should have started to get away sooner." Jubilee yelled into my ear. I was about to holler back when the soldiers stopped going for us, and turned its attention to something else.

**/Jubilee, Danny, get out of there NOW. Do NOT look back. Just run./**

"I think we need to listen and not argue this time. She doesn't speak in that tone of mind very often." Jubilee whispered to me.

I agreed and we ran past the soldier that was still occupied by whatever it considered dangerous.

None of the other armored creatures tried to attack us, and that got me to put a little more speed on. Whatever stopped them was bound to be a little more dangerous than what we were boasting.

The others barely waited for us to catch up before they started running again. No one was saying anything. They were just running.

A half minute after we left the battle, a horrible sound pierced the air, not unlike the whine the armored creatures made, that made me want to fall down and cover my ears. But I kept going.

We all ran as fast as we could, never speaking, just moving as fast as we could to get out of the valley.

And we didn't look back.

* * *

Chrissy: I will admit that it was pretty fun. Now I only have two more days left, and school starts this week. I'm glad you like Dex, and as for who sent him, we'll have to let that one play out. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

PrincessOfWildfire: Thank you, the part was really fun to write. I'm glad you like Dex so much, you'll be seeing more of him as the story progresses and maybe beyond. Anyway, hope you like the chapter!

Raliena: Oh my, one and a half years? That's really long, I haven't even been on here that long, I don't think…anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.

Asteria: I'm sure he will for however long he wants. I hope you like the chapter!

AnonGirl88: Well, I suppose everyone deserves a not so secret admirer once in their lives. I'll do my best to update more frequently!

asp: Glad you think so. Heh, I'm glad Dex was so well received, I was halfway worried about that, but I think it will be okay. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter!

Herman also apologizes for the late update with me!


	35. Floating Castle

A/N

Well….At least it didn't take almost two weeks like last time. Still sorry about how long it took. I worked hard to get it done as soon as possible. I'll work on shortening the time down.

* * *

"Okay, does anyone have a map?"

"No, for the fourth time."

"Why don't we play a game?"

"I don't think so."

"Cheer up guys!"

"Shut up, Kitty." Rahne and Ray said with aggravation obvious in their voices.

"Just trying to lighten the mood." Kitty said sulkily. I gently brushed off the third morpho off my shoulder today as it rested for a few minutes before heading back towards the shadowed valley. I guess that they must be drawn to the power that the innkeeper mentioned, if it exists.

"We just have to keep walking, and try to find a city of some sort. Danny, can you sense anything or ask someone if there's someplace near by?" Jean asked, stopping to rest against some large boulders.

I kept my contrary thoughts to myself as I listened in to animal conversation at her request.

As far as I let my range go, there was nothing but angry spats, foraging, working animals. No grumbles about society or laughter about some unfortunate two legger or otherwise, barring the obvious group I was part, and barring the village we had just left.

"Nothing yet." I said to let them know I was trying.

"I cannot believe we got stuck in the middle of nowhere." Jubilee started to complain loudly.

I extended my reach a little farther listening in, but it was starting to make my head hurt, being spread several miles in all directions. There, far north, there was an itchy chatter, a muttering of discontent that seemed to filter through until it was voiced by the animals just inside my range. I don't know how I knew that little bit of information, but I knew it.

"There's something farther north that may be worth checking out."

"How far?"

"Don't know. More than a few miles." I said, stretching while I stopped listening slowly. Shutting out voices all at once could throw me off balance.

"Then we'd better start going. Lead the way!" She said, cheered now that we had a destination.

"So what's over there?" Kitty asked.

"Don't know. It's just different." I said, stifling a yawn. I think lack of sleep is beginning to catch up with me.

"Well, we won't find out if we stay around talking. " Mr. McCoy said good naturedly. "Let's gets started."

* * *

We all stared up at the massive stone building. We couldn't see it any other way, as it was FLOATING.

"Whoa…that's cool. I wanna have a floating castle." Jubilee whispered.

The castle floated on a pedestal of intertwining vines, as if it were a giant plant and the castle was a bud.

"How are we gonna get up there?" Ray pointed up at it. "It has to be a hundred feet up!"

"Do we really want to? I mean, we don't, like, know what's up there. For all we know, there's some really big monster or something." Kitty pointed out.

"Perhaps, but there is nowhere else." Crepuscule commented. "And I should be able to carry everyone up, though I will have to make a couple of trips."

"He's right. Let's go." Jean ordered.

It took an hour to get everyone up to the castle. When we were all standing on the ruined rocks of a ruined walkway, Crepuscule was panting and standing a little unsteadily on his four legs. I guess the stress of carrying all of us, including Jean who wanted to conserve her energy just in case, was a little rough on him.

"Are you alright?" Jean was concerned.

"I will be fine." He composed himself and shifted into a steadier position, flexing his claws. "I was just a bit out of breath, that is all."

"Are you sure?" She asked, crossing her arms. "You're one of the main powerhouses here, we may need you. Do you need to rest?"

"I am fine." He said with a snort, picking up his head proudly.

I frowned faintly at that. But I shook it off. Everyone has pride, and it always seems to show itself at odd and usually unfortunate times.

We walked down the walkway and I had a nasty memory of a temple floating in the back of my mind.

"I wonder who lives in this dump?" Kitty whispered.

"Quiet! Don't make anyone that's listening in angry." Rahne warned. "You never know when you come across a really sensitive person."

"Like who? This place is, like, totally deserted!"

"Will you keep it down?! You'll wake up the spirits!"

"What spirits?"

"Old castles are always haunted!" Ray said urgently.

"Really?!" Kitty let her jaw drop.

"I can't believe this. Ghosts aren't real, guys!" Jubilee snapped.

I blinked at the statement and let it pass.

Crepuscule examined some crumbling pillars a few feet from the entrance to the large building. He seemed to be doing all he could to ignore the conversation. Probably was getting a headache from the shrill voices.

_Dahile__ goshma golia…_

I looked up to the top of one of the pillars still standing.

"Will you guys shut-up!" Jean snapped. "If there's anything dangerous around here, we don't want to attract it."

"Too late for that." I said calmly, keeping my eyes on the beast.

They all looked up slowly.

It…was complex. Something between a dog and a monkey, and muttering to itself in a language I couldn't understand. That confused me to no end, because never before have I ever not been able to under stand an anima, barring the usual transformed humans.

It was obviously some sort of made creature, how I have no idea. The back legs were too short to properly run. The tail was too long, and not whippy or prehensile enough to be of any real use. The arms were strong looking, long, but thin looking, and looked strained at holding up the upper body weight of the creature. The chest was incredibly wide, and the long muzzle of the creature was filled with large teeth. Its coloring was a patchy black and brown, with a large white blaze down its face.

"Is that a friend of yours, Danny?" Mr. McCoy muttered.

"Not one I've met yet." I said, pushing a little bit of cheerfulness into my tone. I wasn't hearing any other murmurs, but dogs and monkeys, at least the fairly large ones, usually travel in groups.

"Not a friend you've met yet? What's that supposed to mean?" Rahne asked.

"Well, you always hear that strangers are friends you haven't met yet, right?" I said cheerfully, keeping an eye on the big animal while casting a glance her way.

"Okay, never shall we understand what is going on in your thick skull." Jubilee hissed. "Make it go away!"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't think it speaks my language." I said, watching as drool began to drop from its mouth.

"What do you mean? How can it not?" Jubilee waved her arms, attracting the creatures attention. "All animals are the same right? When they think?"

"Jubes, stop waving your arms. You're making it single you out."

Her hands froze halfway up and she looked at the creature, which now had its tongue lolling out. The tongue was almost two feet long.

And pink. Very pink.

_Haliosh__ nevarsh golia…_The tone was curious, and not all that aggressive.

Jean whispered something I couldn't really hear.

"What was that?"

"Is it dangerous?" She asked, stopping in mid whisper.

"I don't know, I barely met it." I looked at him.

"Well, try to talk to it! Are you?"

"I'll try." I said, vaguely annoyed. "Just don't do anything stupid while I'm talking, like run."

The animal snorted and drooled some more.

/Hey. Look at me, I'm right here./

I raised my arm, and the big dog monkey looked at me. I don't know if it was from the talking or from the movement.

/You have a name?/

It looked at me uncomprehendingly. It gripped the sides of the pillar and leaned forward, looking at me closer.

"Danny…"

"I don't think he understands." I walked forward, hand still raised. It began to go down the pillar, watching me curiously. Its grip on the pillar prevented it from falling to the ground, but it climbed a little jerkily, too much weight on the top.

It breathed in my scent once it got about a foot above my arm. Its tongue lolled out again, almost down to my neck.

Then it grinned at me and playfully swatted my hand.

A bolt of electricity buzzed nastily over my shoulder and left a large black mark in the pillar where the creature's paw had been.

The animal froze in place and looked wide eyed behind me, I assume at Ray.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"What are you talking about, it attacked you!" Jean protested.

The animal began to growl and raise hackles. Then it began to howl.

"KRRRREEEEEEEOOOOOOOWOWOWOWOWW!"

"That's bad." I informed them as I tried to placate the animal. But it was too late, it had scrambled back up the pillar and was hissing and howling.

"Why is it bad?" Kitty asked, looking at the animal in fascination.

"KREEEOEEEOEEEOWOWOWOWOWWOWWOWOWWWWOOOOOOOOOOO!" More howls filled the air from somewhere we couldn't see.

"That's why." I said as patchy brown animals began to show up all around us.

* * *

PrincessOfWildfire: Hmmm…I really should stop eating chocolate, I'll lose the figure I don't have. Anyway, thank you so much, you always have the nicest things to say. I'm glad I got re-interested as well, I would have hated to leave this story hanging. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and Dex!

AnonGirl88: I hope that satisfied your curiosity. I'll try to update more often!

Herman will take the reviews!


	36. Almost all together again

A/N

I'm still kicking! And still writing. Hope you liked the chapter!

* * *

There were twenty that I could see, and more pouring out. Each one misshapen and impossible, but still dangerous.

Humans, I have discovered in the big scheme of things, are not exactly the unhurtable, unstoppable beings that we lend ourselves to thinking. For example, a small group of humans, even the mutant division with superpowers, find themselves hard pressed against a mob of monsters, especially semi intelligent ones.

The original dog monkey was glaring at Ray, growling menacingly. The others followed its lead and snarled at the rest of us, forcing us back with sheer aggression back down the crumbling walkway.

"Crepuscule, can you take these guys?" Jean asked, keeping her eyes on a particularly aggressive brindle dog monkey.

"I doubt I could fight them all. I have a feeling there are more than these two score."

There were more than forty. Lots more. I caught sight of a few up on the castle ramparts when a dog monkey jumped over the group daringly.

"Make them go away!" Kitty squeaked at me.

"I'm not some magician; I can't just magic them away!" I hissed back.

"Can't you convince them somehow?!"

"I can't if I can't even understand them!"

"Work some emotion mojo or something!"

I turned to stare at her. "What?"

I lost whatever Kitty was trying to say to me in the squawks and screams of the dog monkeys as Ray set off a warning when three got within a foot of him. I was having a difficult time trying to sort out what I was hearing to the screaming voices in my head.

The creatures were working themselves into a frenzy. Unless some sort of miracle happened, we would end up being lunch or in some other undesirable state.

Jean grabbed my shoulder.

"What!?" I yelled. She looked shocked and surprised. I was surprised as well by the reaction and took a step back, realizing that the outside noise had cut out. The mouths of the dog monkeys open and shut, but no sound came out.

But that didn't stop the voices in my head. They weren't linked to any vocal system, so they weren't affected by whatever shut them up. But they quickly grew disoriented at not hearing each other and the voices ceased to a sharp growling mutter as the animals pawed the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?!" A nasally voice demanded. The dog monkeys froze, pricking their ears, and then scattered to the wind. They were gone so fast I almost had to wonder if they weren't teleported, even though I could feel their presence just out of sight.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my home?" The speaker was a short, bald man with stringy hair ringing the sides of his head like a crown. His features were hooked, and his eyes were a watery gray. He was shorter than me, and I could see by the slightly inclined look to his head that he was quite used to peering up at people.

No one said anything, too dumbstruck to respond. Luckily, we didn't have to.

"Hey! Hey you guys! Hey!" Rogue burst out from behind a large pillar, followed by Sam, and then Ms. Monroe.

"Rogue!" Kitty squealed. "We've been looking for you guys!"

"Where have you been?" Rogue ran in and hugged Kitty, careful not to touch skin. Sam hugged Jubilee and Ms. Monroe was talking with Mr. McCoy, trying to get up to speed with what happened with the respective groups.

"Excuse me! This is not a meeting place or a recreational park! This is my home, now leave!" The man squawked.

"Who is that?" Jean asked Ms. Monroe. Ms. Monroe just rolled her eyes.

"That's Alistair Gemry Callisair. He owns this place and made those animals."

"They are my greatest works! Perfect in every way!" Alistair exclaimed, pulling himself up to his full five feet.

I snorted before I could stop myself, and then quickly turned away, acting innocent.

"You would dare mock me?!" He snarled at me.

"No. Not at all." I said, straight faced.

He turned purple and looked like he was going to set some of his monsters on me.

"Perhaps we should make ourselves scarce. All of us." Mr. McCoy said, noticing the color of Alistair.

"Yes. Leave! All of you!" His face was changing from purple to almost black. "Never come back! Not until you acknowledge their excellence!" He pointed to one of the dog monkeys that had ventured back into sight.

I winced and kept my tongue in check. They were still dangerous, even if they weren't as close to perfect as their creator believed.

We all started to move towards the edge of the ruined castle land, back to where Crepuscule had flown us up. I was glad to leave. Things felt unnatural here.

I quickly realized a problem with our departure when we reached the edge.

"It might take awhile for us all to get down." I pointed out. Crepuscule laid his ears back and contemplated how many he could take on a down trip.

"I'll make sure we can all get down at once." Ms. Monroe informed me. I glanced at her and wondered how that would happen. A wind gust, maybe?

Actually, it was a tornado. While Ms. Monroe made it, Alistair kept ranting on and on about monsters and his own genius and why we should all leave.

I could add on a few reasons to the last one. He struck me as an idiot that knew a lot.

"Everyone jump!" Ms. Monroe ordered. "The wind will take you to the bottom when I start slowing the gusts down."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." I whispered to Kitty. Kitty looked as if she agreed.

"Would you like me to fly you down?"

I almost jumped a half foot into the air. I didn't even realize Crepuscule ad snuck around behind me. I turned and looked back at him.

"You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I apologize. Would you like me to fly you down?"

I looked around and saw everyone lining up to jump into the tornado. Mr. McCoy was looking doubtful, just like everyone else.

"Yeah, I think I'd rather fly. Swirling cyclones tend to make me sick."

"You know this from experience?"

"Not really. But it's been hinted to me many times."

I used his leg to boost myself up onto his back. He took a flying leap straight off the side of the castle's lands, slamming his wings straight down causing wind gusts that were immediately sucked into the tornado, but not before they knocked Alistair over.

"How dare you!"

Crepuscule snorted at the outburst and used one of the stray winds off the tornado to shoot himself up into the air circling slowly over the top of the castle. "Odd how a man stays in a castle trying to perfect monsters when he doesn't know what he's doing."

"Everyone has something for a hobby, I guess. Can't help that. Shouldn't we be going towards the ground?"

"I was hoping they'd get to the ground before we do. Seeing people get sick tends to make me feel ill."

"Oh." I know how that is sometimes, though hanging around my sibling for most of my younger years has greatly desensitized towards that sort of thing.

A loud keening scream burst out of the top of the castle and a swaying, lumbering, black shape flew out of the highest ruined tower.

It looked like some strange cross between a monstrously ugly, leprous looking elephant and a pterodactyl. And it looked like it was going to fall straight out of the air.

But that didn't stop it from struggling to fly after Crepuscule.

"Should I be amused or perturbed?" Crepuscule wondered half to himself.

Then the elephant monster spat what looked like a big wad of jelly like spit at him. Halfway through the air, it caught fire.

Crepuscule snorted in panic and rolled out of the way. "What was that?"

"I think he spat a loogie at you." I said, watching the monster. I could hear it muttering in the same language as the dog monkeys.

"I dislike being spat at. It's very ungentlemanly." He took a deep breath.

"What are you doing?!" I grabbed the ropes and held on.

Lightning, in a steady, vicious stream, exploded out of his mouth and slammed the elephant monster back into the castle, not quite the highest tower. More like the courtyard below.

"Whoa. Did I know you could do that?!"

He shrugged and dove down below the castle to alight upon the ground about a hundred yards away from our group, who (with the exception of Ms. Monroe) all had a nasty green look about them.

This was why they didn't ask us about the miniature lightning storm. I've never been so glad that people were sick.

When everyone felt better and were up to walking again, there were questions all around about what happened to everyone. So, on the way of walking as quickly away from the floating castle as possible, we exchanged stories.

Ms. Monroe, immediately knowing something was wrong when she came too, fried her captors and immediately set off to look for the others. She found Sam quite by accident when he fell from the sky and let a crater in the ground. He had 'cannon balled' away from his own captors, which had tried to drag him North. He had said that it was a climate that didn't suit him. The third group of robed gremlins had found themselves in the floating castle and made the mistake of trying to fight their way through the monsters there. Rogue had a better chance, because she managed to absorb a few ad that frightened the dog monkeys and they stayed away. Later, she met Alistair and they got into a fight (which she ultimately won) and later was joined by Ms. Monroe and Sam, who had gotten lost and were on the verge of dying from thirst.

What a pleasant story. I think I'm going to have to start editing this one if I ever tell it to Julian.

"So, who's still missing?" Sam asked.

"Scott." Jean said mournfully. Rogue rolled her eyes and looked sad at the same time. I'm not sure how she pulls that off.

"So where do we go then?"

"We go North. That's where the gremlins dragged you, so that must be where Scott is going, if he hasn't gotten away. He'll come to the same conclusion we have, and we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. We stop this Soul King and we find Scott." Jean said triumphantly.

"But how do we get home?" Kitty asked.

"That's…a good question." Jean faltered. "Well, we might as well do first things first. We can't worry about the latter now. Let's go."

* * *

Of course, that is an important question…

Anon(girl)88:I'm glad you liked it. I'll try to update as frequently as I can. Hope you like this chapter too!

PrincessOfWildfire: I think they'd be great too, and you can put it in any location (except over airports). I'm glad you liked it!

asp: Glad you thought it was intriguing. I hope you liked this chapter too!

Raliena: Yeah, holidays are busy for me too. Oh well. Hope you like the chapter!

Herman will take the reviews! He would give you eledactly cookies, but for some reason they got fried….


	37. Giant discoveries

Jötunheim: Norse land of giants

* * *

"I'm just saying, guys, if we keep going north we're going to need some heavier clothes. North equals winter!"

"Kitty, do I need to give you a lesson on weather and geography?"

"You know what I mean, Mr. McCoy! Besides, how do we know where we're going without a map?"  
"We are so not starting on the map debate again. Jean, tell Kitty to shut up!" Jubilee snapped.

"Children!" Ms. Monroe warned.

_I feel for you._ A bird, smoky gray and the size of a sparrow, told me sympathetically from a bush as I rolled my eyes skyward.

"If you really felt for me you would take my place." I said aloud without realizing what I was doing. That got me a whole host of slightly confused stares mingled with a sparse few amused ones. They quickly shrugged it off as my normal behavior and went back to arguing.

_I don't feel for you that much_. The bird said back snarkily.

The floating castle and the fire spitting elephant were quite a few miles behind us now. I was glad to be away from it. Something that unnatural and unpleasing was best left out of my sight. Though, a couple miles away I began to wonder if we should not have stayed. It was out of character for the X-men to leave just as soon as they arrived, wasn't it? But still, staying in that area was dangerous, even if Alistair was an idiot.

Though idiocy is something that can't be gauged as well as others.

I leaned back lightly against the bush. Plant life was sparse and growing thinner as we kept going farther north. This was the first bush I've seen above two feet in several miles.

We've been walking for a day and most of the night of said day. We all slept for about three hours and were moving again. Everyone was short tempered, with the exception of Mr. McCoy and Jean. They must have caffeine circulating through their systems.

I was taking the sidelines on the fight, closing my eyes at periodic times to get a snooze, but with all the commotion, it wasn't working. I had even less sleep than they did, because I had the odd, creepy feeling that something had been coming beside me in the night and leaving before I opened my eyes. It was just the invasion of space I was feeling.

I don't really like having my space invaded.

"Can we just start walking now?!"

"You just want to find Scott! Well, newsflash Jean, we're tired! We need to rest! We can't do anything if we're falling asleep in battle!" Kitty snarled.

I wasn't aware Kitty could snarl.

A little disturbance in the background speech caused me to take a glance over my shoulder.

"Stop it, all of you! I thought you guys were supposed to be a team, and all ah see is a bunch of idiots!" Rogue butted in before Jean could start yelling back. "Yeah, we're stuck out here. Bad plannin' on our part. But we gotta keep goin'. There's stuff we havta do, and we ain't getting it done sitting here arguin' at each other."

Everyone was quiet after this piece of advice.

"Sorry Jean." Kitty said finally.

"I'm sorry too. How about we take a rest now?" Jean amended.

"Might not be a good idea." I said, squinting at the black dot to the east of us steadily becoming larger.

"What is it?" Jean was immediately at my side, looking at the dot with me.

I jumped a little at her sudden appearance, then shook it off. "I don't know, but the animals aren't that annoyed. That could mean one of two things."

Jean waited a moment, then impatiently asked, "And they are?"

"Either it's harmless, or it likes animals." I said, squinting at it and listening to the tones of the animals as it passed by them. Just complaints about heavy foot falls. Too tall. Smells like a really big human. Kind of sounds like…

"Giant. There's a giant coming." I told them.

"A giant? Well he should be friendly, right?" Jubilee asked. "He's almost human, right?"

"Humans are not the best thing to put a generalization of morals on." Crepuscule warned her.

"Yeah, and haven't you heard the stories of giants that eat people and grind the bones to make bread?!" Ray whispered audibly.

"I think those are only the giants of the Rocky Isles." Crepuscule informed him.

"Do you think I care?"

A tremor shook the ground. Then another. And another.

Heavy footfalls.

"Okay, maybe we should, like, run?! Kitty began back pedaling as the giant came further into view. The others began to follow a little slower, not willing to move away unless it proved to be dangerous.

I could see it clearly now, even though it were several thousand feet off. His steps were so large and fast that he was covering ground faster than people that get on Mr. Logan's bad side.

I think it was a he. The beard was red and had things twined into it. There was a scraggly mane of hair covering his head, and by my estimate, he was almost forty feet tall. He was dressed in a leather tunic with furs everywhere, many from different species. On his back there was a pole, and I couldn't see if it was attached to any blade.

"Danny!" Jean hissed out. It was then I realized that I hadn't moved, too caught up in trying to see what the giant looked .like. But by the time I was about to move, it was too late.

"AREN'T YOU GOING TO RUN?!" His voice boomed at me, glaring down from his forty plus height.

"Am I supposed too?" I said before I could stop myself. I should start slapping myself, my thoughts are really out of hand.

"BRAVE FOR A LITTLE GIRL. ARE YOU NOT FRIGHTENED OF ME, CHILD?!"

The tone made me wince. I crossed my arms over my chest. I had come this far, might as well make the illusion stick.

He laughed. The sound made my ribs rattle.

"YOU ARE BRAVE. STUPID, BUT BRAVE. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

"Danny."

"DANNY?! I AM DANEC," He grinned down at me, showing some gold teeth. "SMITH OF THE HIGHROAD CLAN OF THE JÖTUNHEIM."

"Nice to meet you." I said, not really sure how nice it was.

"WHY DO YOU WANDER HERE?"

"We're going north to find a friend of ours. Or maybe two. We're not all that sure."

"A BLIND BUT NOT BLIND FRIEND?"

"Is his name Scott?" Jean popped up next to me again. I sucked in a breath and glared at her for scaring me.

"YES. YOU KNOW HIM?"

"Yes! Tell me where he is!"

"YOU ARE VERY BRAVE TO ORDER THINGS OF ME." He mocked. "SO BRAVE TO COME BACK EVEN AFTER YOU HAD BEGUN TO RUN AWAY."

Jean blushed red.

"Could you tell us where he is anyway?" I asked before she turned on her 'psychic mojo' and got us into trouble.

"IT WOULD MAKE ME EVEN WITH THE BOY…VERY WELL. GO EAST, TILL YOU SEE THE TOWER OF THE DOGS. THERE, IN THE TALLEST ROOM, IS THE BOY."

"How do you know it's the Scott we're looking for?" I asked Jean quickly as her face lit up. She quickly got a guilty look on her face and looked away.

Psychic mojo.

The giant shook his head. "I'VE DONE MY PART HERE. TELL THE BOY SO. I AM LATE FOR MY OWN MEETING. OUT OF THE WAY, LITTLE ONES!"

He tromped off, the earth shaking underneath his footfalls. Everyone scattered as fast as they could to get away from an imminent squashing.

_Danec__ comes every once in awhile through here. He knows much about magical items, like rings_. The bird said suggestively as it flew away from the bush.

My left fingers twitched involuntarily and I looked down at them. A ring was on the ring finger. The ring given to me by the robed man. I don't remember putting it on my finger at all.

I think someone is trying to tell me something.

"Let's go! We can go free Scott and then take on this Soul King!" Jean sounded very happy.

"But what about Logan? Is he here as well?" Ms. Monroe asked.

We all looked at each other. None of us knew.

"Logan can take care of himself. Let's focus on Scott now." Rogue broke in. "Logan's tough, he can do anything. Right now we gotta go after the people we know about."

"She's right. Let's go after Scott." Jubilee agreed.

"Okay, then we're decided." Jean said after everyone voiced their assent. "We're going east."

* * *

PrincessOfWildfire: I'm glad you liked it. I was torn between fire and electricity, and decided lightning was the way to go. I hope you like this chapter as well!

Asteria:. Oops. Sorta busted. Fact is, that little spot was the bump in my winding mental writing road. And I wanted to get over it fast. As far as Alistair is concerned, he will come back, in some way or other (I won't ruin anything) and that chapter (hopefully) will be the worst one I have. And wouldn't it be Dex and Arcane, as Adelia already has Crepuscule? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter better than the last.

Anongirl88: That's okay. George ate my dog monkey cookie cutter. I hope you liked the chapter, and thanks for the cookies!

Raliena: We thank you for the fruit cake as I am not a fan of fruit cake I shall leave it all to Herman) and I hope you like the chapter!

Asp: Glad you liked it (everyone seems to be pleased with eledactyls) and Storm did take a long time to get back, didn't she. Oh well. I hope you like the chapter!

Herman will take the reviews! A giant sized thank you to you all!


	38. Black tower and Thorn walls

A/N

I'm finally back! I'm really sorry, First the thing that's been taking up a lot of my time just got over with, and you have no idea how glad I am. Second, I managed to get sick again (I get sick a lot this time of year) and thirdly, this weekend I had several Band and Thespian things I had to deal with. And I tried to get this up yesterday, but I wsn't finished. In any case, updates should be more frequent (hopefully) now that I'm out of the woods on my schoolwork, and an almost clean plate for everything else. Again, sorry about the delays, I'll try to do better!

* * *

"Tower of thorns. Giant black tower with no doors and one window. Wow, does that scream 'Stay Out' or what?" Kitty asked with a giggle. "I wonder how that big guy got across?"

"Probably stepped over. There goes Jean." Rahne watched her go up. Jean flew over the ten foot wall of thorns and flew straight up the tower.

"How long you think she's going to stay up there before she calls us up to help?" Jubilee asked.

"Ah don't think we should speculate." Sam said with a light blush.

"There goes Ms. Monroe. Probably making sure that nothing happens." Kitty said suggestively. She and Jubilee dissolved into heaps of laughter. Mr. McCoy had to break them up.

"Now, now, don't make fun. Keep an eye out. We don't know what's in this area of the woods."

"What woods?"

"It was a figure of speech, Ray. Danny, would you please poke around to find out if there's anything we should be wary of."

"Alright." I stopped staring at the rows of thorns and began to stretch my mind out a little. The large black tower was made out of strange black stone, a little strange to the touch, as some bugs confided to me as I passed through. No, they hadn't seen anything threatening. Not on this side. But the bird hanging out next to the window where Scott and Jean were being reunited(I skimmed over that as soon as I made certain it was Scott—no need to stay any longer than needed) commented about something on the far side of the thorns that I might want to check.

Mr. McCoy was trying to keep the jokes down to a minimum, so I slipped away going alongside the thorn wall. It was circular around the tower, and the thorns sprouting from it were several inches long. They had red tips. I bent in to get a better look at them.

"Vicious looking, aren't they?" A familiar voice asked from above.

I jerked upright to see Dex standing on the thorn wall, looking down at me.

"But basically harmless. The red tips were painted on, I think. Now, if they had green tips I'd have to whisk you way from here for your own protection." He said with a big grin.

"Don't bet on it." I started walking off.

"Wait!"

"What?" I snapped.

"I'm stuck!"

"Excuse me?" I asked in disbelief as I turned around.

He grinned down at me and held out his hands endearingly. "Help me down?"

I stared at him for a minute, then I shook my finger at him. "I know what you're planning. You're a dirty man."

"Me?!" He asked incredulously. "How could you say that?"

"I know you would." I said, turning to walk away.

"Do what?" He asked me. I ignored him and kept going. He kept calling after me, but soon stopped.

"Finally. I hate that guy." I breathed in relief. I was nearing the far side of the circle of thorns, looking for whatever it was the bird said I should look at.

This side of the thorns had a rather odd dimple in it. As I looked closer, I realized it was some sort of burrow. A large sort of burrow. At least as tall as I was and maybe half again as wide. It went straight into the thorns and judging by the shadows and the bent look of the twigs, it was split into little passageways about two feet across.

"Weird." I reached in and plucked out one of the thorns. There was fur stuck on it, banded like a bumblebee, only grey and green.

Is it a hive? Now that I feel around with my mind a little more specifically, there are little things scurrying around in the thorn wall, but they seem rather sluggish.

"You are so mean." A voice breathed close to my ear. "I had to climb down all by myself. What did I do to deserve that kind of treatment, hmm?"

"Yikes!" I jumped forward, forgetting I was standing right next to a gigantic thorn bush.

"OWW! You JERK!" I struggled to get out of the thorns, wanting to yell as they bit into my palms and legs. Two arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me up and out of the thorns.

"Now, now. One turn, good or bad, deserves another, no? If you had just helped me down of the thorns, your karma wouldn't have bitten you in the ass." Dex grinned as I managed to get my footing back.

I shoved him away and squatted down, using my teeth to pluck out the thorns. My cheeks were burning. "Jerk."

He grinned down at me. "You're just bitter."

"You're damn right I'm bitter! What is your problem!? Do you have anything better to do then follow me and stand next to me when I'm sleeping and put rings on my fingers? Don't try to deny it-you're the only one who could have pulled it off. And now you come behind me and scare me, and I have thorns in my hands!"

"I think you're just saying that because you're at unease with yourself. Care to talk about it?"

"No!"

"I think you may be having some stress in your life. Hazard to guess what causes it?"

I stopped with a thorn sticking out of my mouth like a toothpick and stared at him. "What do you think?!"

"Honestly? I think you're upset that you can't tell when I'm coming. It must be very annoying, especially for someone who's only real defense is knowing."

"Yeah, well, knowing is half the battle." I snapped. I went back to chewing thorns out of my palm.

"You know, I could help you with those thorns…"

"Touch me and die."

"You know, I heard back on your world they have classes for your kind of situation."

"I don't need Anger-management!"

"Funny how that was the first thing to leap out of your mouth."

"Shut-up! You are so…so…"

"Funny? Charming? Fatally Beautiful? Is there anything I've missed?"

"Egotistical, Jerk, Idiot, Annoying Pain!"

"…I am not an idiot. That was very hurtful. I don't see where this hostility is coming from."

I got up stiffly and marched off, fully intent on getting back to the rest of the group.

"You still have thorns in your legs." He called after me.

I refused to answer him. He made me jump into thorns. And he was right about the thing about not knowing he was coming. But I was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

He was suddenly right in front of me, hands clasped in front of him. "Don't you love me anymore?"

I stumbled to a halt. I glared at him, speechless.

"What? Is there something in my teeth?"

"You are a psycho." I said decisively. "Send a message to your boss that he should lock you up."

"But I want to stay with you!"

"Why?" I said with a sigh of exasperation. "Why?"

"You're pretty. I like pretty girls."

"The other girls in my group are pretty. There are thousands of prettier girls! Millions!"

"But none quite like you." He said leaning in.

I felt my face go on fire and I stumbled back. "Stop that!"

He pouted. "So beautiful, yet so very cruel. My heart shall be naught but little pieces of jagged love."

"I said stop it!"

"Very well. I shall leave then, but only because you asked. I'll go, though my heart shatters. But never fear, my beautiful young mutant, I'll be back."

"Wait a minute, how did you—" He was gone before I could get out my question. One second there, the other gone. With not even a particle of kicked up dust. He made Pietro and Kurt look like amateurs. But unlike Kurt, I was almost certain he didn't teleport. And I bet he couldn't go as far as Pietro. If I could just figure out how to track him, I'd be able to catch him at his own game.

I spent a few minutes yanking thorns out of my legs, pricking my fingers a few times in the process. A few more thorns out of my hands, and I was ready to rock.

I started walking again, but after I got about twenty feet I felt the little beasts in the thorns get annoyed. Then they started moving back towards the burrow. I turned around and watched as small, foot long centipede-like creatures with grey and green striped fur poured out of the general direction of the burrow. None of them seemed all that interested in me.

I walked back slowly, careful not to startle them. Lots of creatures like that could have the same effect as the dog monkeys- vicious in large groups.

Why were they moving so fast now, when just a few minutes ago, they were acting so sluggish?

I reached my hand out to pick one of the slower ones up, but it hissed and arced it's lower half like a scorpion. I jerked my hand away and watched it scuttle away.

"Okay…" That was a little mean.

"Danny!"

I looked up to see Jean hovering in the air.

"What's taking you so long? We have to go, some more of those iron soldiers are coming this way!"

"Great." I glanced down at the bugs again, but they were still ignoring me. "Coming!"

"Take my hand." Jean floated a couple of feet above my head. "The others already started running."

"Just a second. Which way are the soldiers going? Straight as the crow flies?"

"The same way all of these things are going. That's weird. Why are they all going the same way? Have you asked?"

"No. I don't think they're in the mood to talk." I scratched my neck. "We'd better go. I can feel the annoyance already."

"What?"

"The animals are getting annoyed. The soldiers aren't natural. We have to go, they'll be here really soon." I grabbed her outstretched hand.

"We'll figure this out when we're safe. Hold on tight."

A moment later I was airborne, flying over the thorn wall, rounding the tower, and flying off towards the hurriedly moving group of mutants with someone with a bandage over their eyes. It had to be Scott.

"There!" Jean pointed to where the annoyed voices had begun to get louder. I looked over and saw almost twenty armored creatures marching, clubs out. It looked like they'd go straight through the wall of thorns to join the running bugs on the other side. I wondered why I hadn't heard them before. Dex must have distracted me.

"What's going on?" I wondered.

"We'll regroup with the others and follow them!" Jean yelled over the clanking. "We have to check on Scott first! We have to be careful, he lost his glasses!"

"Great." I said as we gained on the fleeing mutants.

* * *

PrincessofWildfire:Heh, glad you like it. And I hope this satisfies your need to see Dex again. Glad you like the bird, and I hope you liked the chapter!

Raliena: Glad you thought it was good, I hope you have the same reaction for this chapter!

Anongirl88: No leprechauns yet, I don't know if there will be any at all, Sorry Mr. L! Glad you liked the last chapter, hope you and Mr. L like this one too!

Herman apologizes with me about the wait, and shall take your reviews!


	39. The Path of Unwanted travel

A/N

Sorry about the delay again! ACT's came up along with other things, and I was dragged into the abyss. Sorry! Anyway, slightly short chapter, wanted to get this out of the way before starting on the next part, and I will do my best to update more often.

* * *

Jean set up the cup Scott knocked over for the third time. I felt pity for him. I knew he must have felt extremely frustrated. There was a strip of cloth covering his eyes (I don't know why- anything over his eyes and in front of him would be obliterated if he took a peek anyway) and it looked like giant moths had attacked his shirt.

Night had fallen faster than usual, and dull whines betrayed waves of magic snaking through the earth. They became stronger the farther north they came from. We all sat in a circle, not building a fire for fear it would attract things we didn't especially want.

A dull hiss in my mind told me the soldiers were still tromping in the same direction, joining up with several others along the way. It's getting easier to track people now. I don't know if it has to do with me finally getting used to this place or not.

Scott's account of what happened had been less than useful. His glasses had been lost straightaway, and to stop him from causing trouble, he had been knocked out repeatedly. From the times he was conscious, we all managed to piece together that he had been the only one of us to successfully been brought to the holding place (I'm guessing a certain tower with a thorn wall around it) before sacrificing.

"The main guy had this strange name I can't say." Scott said as he took a sip from the cup.

"Figures. Every bad guy has like, a weird name." Kitty said, rolling her eyes.

"Like Shadowcat?"

"Yeah—Hey! Shut up, Berserker!"

"Calm down you two." Ms Monroe scolded. "This is not the time or place. If this man took us from our world, he can send us back. The wisest course of action may be to find him."

"And how do we do that? We don' even know who he is!" Rogue protested.

"Following his soldiers would be my guess. They must be going all in one direction for a reason!" Jean turned to me. "They are still going in one direction, right?"

I nodded.

"Right. So they still are going in one direction, and I'll et they're going to meet up with this guy."

"Why didn't the soldiers stop to go after us then?" Sam asked.

"They aren't all that smart. I bet," Rahne said, checking her pack, "That those guys got one order and they follow it to the max, no matter what's happening right under their noses. Besides, they didn't get a good look at us anyway."

"We hope." Ray muttered.

Crepuscule yawned a little, and went back to keeping watch. In his monster form, his eyes were much better than ours. He could also see in the dark.

"So we're going after them, right?" Jean prompted.

"It may be the only way." Hank agreed. Everyone mutely agreed.

A slight twinge made me wince. A couple seconds later I realized it was a mental twinge.

"Something's coming." I said abruptly, cutting off Scott before he started speaking.

"What is it?" Jean leapt into action, the others struggling to catch up with her. We all stood tense at the prospect of oncoming danger.

"I can't tell. There's no one I can ask. All the animals are hiding and the birds flew away." It can be argued that they were infinitely smarter than we are.

"That's bad luck." Rahne commented.

"Can you tell which direction?" Jean asked.

"Same as all the other bad guys." Ray whispered.

"No. It's just…" the twinge made me wince again. "-a twinge. No, wait…Get down! NOW!"

I threw myself flat on the ground. The others followed suit.

Something heavy and unsteady flew over us. I felt suffocated as a rush of fetid, rotting air followed it. I saw Kitty retching, while Jubilee held a hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds she was making.

Whatever it was, it flew on, and soon left us behind. The air stayed vile, and several others, including Jean, ran off to go empty their stomachs.

"This is not a natural air." Crepuscule coughed beside me. "It smells like that monster at Alistair's castle."

"Funny how that works out." I said a little sarcastically. I was a little annoyed with the smell. I hated it. It didn't smell like dead things should. It smelled like the living dead, if that made any sense.

"What was that?" Kitty was still gagging. "Let's get out of here!"

"I second that emotion." Chorused Jubilee.

We all struggled away from the scent, even as it seemed to cling to our clothes.

"What was that?!" Kitty repeated.

"I think it burned the hairs in my nose." Ray said, scratching the bridge of his nose.

"Eww!" Kitty quickly put Rahne in between them.

"Quiet down!" Jean called. "While we have time, let's follow it."

"…I don't wanna follow that thing. Can we give it a day start?" Kitty asked.

"Our best chance at following them lies with that thing. It'll be easy to follow."

"I'll bet." Rogue muttered.

"Come on! Our best way to get home is to fight this guy and get it over with. Let's go!" Jean marched resolutely off after the stench, slowing only to help Scott.

The rest of us followed, Ms Monroe and Mr. McCoy warning that we shouldn't get to close, and that we had to gather information first, before attacking.

Jean told them she knew, but also argued that losing the trail wouldn't help our situation.

I was beginning to feel a little left out. It wasn't as if we'd lose them completely. I was here too.

But they kept going with fierce determination, so I followed to give what aid I could. I heard Rogue mutter that Jean was 'too into saving the world' as she fell in step behind Sam and Ray.

Thankfully, Jean either ignored her or didn't hear her, and everyone avoided an argument.

The smell was nasty, even almost ten minutes after the monster left. Crepuscule was giving it a wide berth, his nose like his eyes-better than human.

I let my mind wander outwards. I thought, I don't know why, it was just a feeling, that I'd have to keep my thoughts to myself as we got closer to the north.

The biggest clump of activity seemed to be a giant knot set in a mountain. Funny how dark Soulking lords like mountain retreats. Farther away, there was a distinct feeling of attraction and unrest, as if something was being drawn in against it's will.

I can only assume that to be a bad thing. And if virgins are needed to make all of this come together…I wonder if anyone else is in this world? Mr. Logan I have not seen, though I imagine he won't be in trouble with anyone doing virgin sacrifices…

Well, we're coming anyway, so we should be able to see everything firsthand.

I just hope this doesn't turn out badly for us.

* * *

PrincessOfWildfire: Furbies are furry creatures of doom? Well, I heard pokemon were the eight sign of the Apocalypse, so it all can make sense. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Raliena: I update as fast as I can! Glad you liked it!

Anongirl88: Glad you like that, Dex is one of the easier creatures, people, etc. to write for. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Asp: Yes, this is the entire group, as was kidnapped. I'm glad you like Dex, I'm very glad I started writing for him, as he's very easy to write for. I hope you like the chapter!

Herman will take the reviews!


	40. Finding the Path of Least resistance

A/N

Sorry again about the lull, I am doing my best, it just seems that when I have a bit of time, here comes something else to gobble it up. Hopefully, though, I've got something that should help me get stuff up faster, so I might be doing better. If not, well, I am trying, and I'm not stopping.

* * *

"Man, this place is rough." Ray commented as he avoided a broken rock. The land had been growing increasingly barren, and there was a very clear cut path. Apparently the soldiers didn't care what was in front of them. Everything was destroyed.

Rogue had begun to voice her opinions even louder in the last few hours. We had been after these trails for almost a day with no stop, and she was getting fed up with it. Everyone was. But they were still all going after it with ragged determination and Jean's unending encouragement. She was even more tired than the rest of us, having to support Scott as well as lead the group.

We were all tired, and my ability to track them mentally was beginning to rely on foreign sources- that is, on indecipherable messages I was getting bits and pieces of. It was too much like Alistair's beasts for comfort.

We should have looked at him more carefully. Instead, I was too discomfited to stay. The others too.

But then, why did he not just go after Sam, Rogue, and Ms. Monroe? What held him back. Surely at least two out of three were virgins, unless I've been catering too much to my animals than my human friends.

Maybe I have been. But it's hard to do anything else when I always hear them, and can't rest if I don't.

"It's just a little bit farther!"

"Shut-UP!" Rogue snapped. "We've been movin' all day! We cain't just keep goin' on cause you say so!"

"We have to keep going, it's our only chance!" Jean whirled around and glared at her.

""No it ain't! Look, jus' cause we take a break now doesn' mean that we're all gonna die! But we will die if we show up barely standin' cause we never took a rest! What, we gonna ask him politely 'Don't destroy the world'? We gotta take a rest or we're not gonna be a use for anythin', and you know it!"

For the first time in the time I've known her, Jean was speechless. She opened her mouth, then closed it and looked defeated when she realized that we were all tired.

"I'm sorry." She bowed her head. "I wasn't thinking about all of you. I was...ready to get home, at any cost."

We were all silent.

"Let's just rest and forget about this. We have work to do." Ms. Monroe voiced. "We are all stressed, and none of us have taken the time to think this totally through. We must determine the full risks of the situation, then act upon it. We all wish to get home. We can only do so if we work together."

"I agree, let's all rest. Danny, a word." Mr. McCoy beckoned me forward. The others threw off their packs, Crepuscule climbed up a rock in his human form and looked around for any threats.

I walked over to Mr. McCoy.

"Have you heard anything that would give us a clue as to what we can expect to see at our destination?"

"Animals like Alistair's pets are moving around up there. The natural animals have moved off. They don't like what they're doing over there, and are moving away. And there's something weaving around the edges of that place, but I don't think it's dangerous to us, at least not yet." I rattled off dutifully. A thought carried with it an undercurrent of disgust, and I quickly pushed it away. This was no time to harbor any feelings towards myself. They could be dealt with later. I had to do what was expected of me now,

"Good. I don't suppose you could stretch out your thoughts to find a path of least resistance?" He scratched his chin, "It would be much easier to take an enemy we know nothing of if we take them by surprise."

And just as easy for them to turn the tables. "I can try, but it would take me a little bit."

"Do it. In the meantime, I'll get some food made." Mr. McCoy nodded to the packs. "It will have to be meager, I would no hazard a fire so close, where danger can come so quickly."

He ambled off to the packs, and I picked a spot near Crepuscule's rock, and lay down to look at the sky. The sky always proved to be a relaxing view, even one's as gray and unforgiving as this one. And the more relaxed I was, the more I could dedicate to concentrating on my task. I just looked up and let myself just sink.

It always started with sinking, never flying, like I'd head some people talk about out of body experiences, and how they just floated out of their bodies. Of course, it wasn't out of body for me, as I could always feel my body when this happened. But it felt as if I sunk for a minute, then spread out, brushing past psyches as I went. These were bugs, rodents, and some birds that were leaving the area as fast as they could. I let them go. They would be irritable if I stopped them, anyway. Not great talking companions. I stopped a moment to listen in indirectly on some of the hissing, guttural language of creatures I couldn't really see, and then began to investigate the less noisy areas. A few I had to discard as routes, because even though they were not noisy, I could feel a sort of anticipation that only comes from patient big game hunters. Crocodiles though quiet mentally; still have an undercurrent of this anticipation. Usually, it was difficult for me to pick up, but I could sense these ones.

That left three passes. One was surrounded by noisy though, and I let it go. The other two seemed open enough.

I did one last check, and then blinked my eyes against the sky. Even though it was gray, my eyes still stung from the light that barely pierced the rapidly clustering, dark clouds. That was an interesting occurrence.

"We will have to find shelter." Crepuscule called.

"Not necessarily." Mr. McCoy pointed out. "Rain will mask our approach."

"Wow, are you related to Mr. Logan?" Kitty asked as she bit into the fruit.

"No, I am just a scholar. Eat up. And if there are blankets, do keep them close. We'll need them." He saw me get up and stretch. "Well, ten minutes, I didn't expect it to be so long. Sit, and eat before you tell us what you've learned."

I sat cross legged in the circle and took a piece of the fruit that Adelia put into our packs. It was a lot like a peach, except it was green. "There are two paths we can take. The castle is built almost into a mountain, so there is a way underground and a way overland. If we're moving in the rain, I suggest the underground path, because the rains come straight down the other one."

"But, underground...That's like a cave, right? What if there are bugs?" Kitty asked, wide eyed.

"Not any natural ones." I said with a shrug. "I didn't feel any presence from others, either."

"Natural ones? What are you talking about?" Kitty asked. The others wore looks of minor confusion.

"I call the creatures I hear and understand 'natural'. Alistair's creations are unnatural." I let the implications of that sink in.

"We should've creamed that guy. "Ray said convincingly as Jean reminded Scott who Alistair was.

"We didn't know, and I don't think I wanted too. Place was creepy." Jubilee put in. "So how do we get in?"

"About a mile from here is an opening in the ground." I had missed it when I started out, but while investigating the path, found the closest opening. "It leads on down into a cave system. We can follow it until it ends up inside the walls around the Soul King's hold."

"Then we can sneak out, figure what this guy has and what we can do to screw it up!" Kitty said gleefully. "Then we can find a way home! It sounds like we have a plan!"

* * *

Herman will take the reviews!

Raliena: Well, sometimes they do question it, apparently. Hope you like this chapter!

Chrissy: Yep, but I hope to make that a good finale. I hope you liked the chapter, and the ones to come!

PrincessOfWildfire: I, too, am grateful in this case for the bouts of sinuses I have, creating my horrible sense of smell. I think it would just be nasty. Anway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Anon(girl)88: I'm sorry I can't update as much as I'd like. It's just one thing after the other. But I don't plan on stopping, so you'll still get the chapters, except with delays. Sorry! Hope you like the chapter nonetheless!


	41. Caves

A/N

Apologies, I know this was later than usual (though with my current track record, it isn't saying much) but I suppose it can't be helped. Funny how things just hit you like a ten thousand pound barbell when you hit senior year. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

The caves were uncomfortable. Though, not in the way Kitty was expressing with her shivers, but the fact that there was almost nothing living here. Even the bugs were few and far between. 

The cave was dark, and I had begun to trip over things I couldn't really see, but wasn't sure I wanted to. When I blinked, I swore I could see energy that only came from the dead. The others couldn't see them, so I decided to keep going until we found a place to stop to investigate.

The journey here had been easy, especially with the fear of being found to move us. Everything seemed to be focused around the Soul King's hideout, as if they were preparing.

Most likely an invasion.

The descent into the cave had been a little more difficult, as the mouth was covered in a nasty looking purple moss that we did our best not to touch, ad once we got to clearer ground, we avoided the plant life like it was the plague.

We'd been walking for a few hours and had only gotten halfway through the first cave system. There were three combined one after the other, and only by checking and double checking myself could I find the right passages.

"Let's rest here for a moment." Mr. McCoy rumbled, "We'll have some water."

I'd advised against drinking water from the pools in the cave- they were clear and welcoming, but I distrust water that doesn't seem to have plant or fish life in it at all.

While everyone uttered muted groans and set their bags down, I slipped away into the caves to investigate.

I closed my eyes for a minute and allowed them to readjust(something I have worked on for awhile) and opened my eyes.

The sheer number of them surprised me. Beasts that I couldn't name were scattered everywhere.

With my eyes open to them, I could sense their thoughts too, something that stayed dormant when I looked around with my blue eyes. All of them seemed bitter, angry, and afraid, their thoughts were so jumbled I could only pick out one or two images, one of the armed soldiers and the Demights, the other of a hideous looking snake dog that was sent down here to kill anything living.

"What did they expect to accomplish by this?" I asked aloud.

"Fear, of course."

I jerked around to see Dex, his nose centimeters from mine.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed, my contact with the dead animal spirits severed.

"Where my heart is, I follow." he said comfortably. "Come with me." He added, "I want to show you something."

"I don't want too."

"Have it your way." He shrugged. "But you might not feel that way when it decides to eat your friends."

"It? There's nothing in this cave-I've looked."

"You'll retract that statement soon enough." He laced his fingers through mine and began pulling me away gently. After a moment I sighed and followed.

"This had better not be one of your dirty stunts."

"If it was, I would have ambushed you back there." He said humorously. "It was secluded enough."

I could feel myself turning bright red. I couldn't believe he was making jokes about that.

We winded down the tunnels in silence, but after about ten minutes, I was getting annoyed. The others were probably wondering where I was, and the grown ups probably would stat talking amongst themselves of buying a leash to keep me in line.

"Where are we going?!" I allowed aggravation to creep into my voice. "Just tell me what it is a-"

Dex's hand clamped over my mouth. "This is a bad place to start yelling, my love. You'll wake him up." He whispered. He leaned in close. "Trust me. Have I ever led you wrong before? Trust me."

I nodded slowly, his face to close for comfort. He let go of me and bought his finger up to his lips in a quieting gesture.

Another five minutes of following Dex got us to a large cavern, one the others and I would have to go through in the shortest route to the castle.

The cavern was illuminated in an unearthly glow, and I could see dozen of passages spreading off, In the middle of the cavern was a pool of the same clear, beautiful water, fed by a constant drip from the ceiling.

I looked at Dex questioningly. There was no indication of danger here.

"You were smart to tell them not to drink the water. It wouldn't have agreed with them." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. Then he pointed to the top of the cavern.

The glow originated from there, and at first, all I saw was a mass of blue, glowing stuff. But then my eyes adjusted…to pick out legs, pincers, body…

I looked back at him in shock. I was speechless. He took the opportunity to drag me back through the passages fast.

We stopped a good ways away in a side passage and I caught my breath. "What was that?"

"His name is Encroth. The pools around here are his blood. When the monster Alistair sent down here met him, they got into a fight. Alistair didn't get his puppy back. Encroth didn't get out all that well either."

"What is he?" I forced my voice to stay level.

"He's a bug. Looks like lots of bugs. Probably wouldn't be a good idea for you and your friends to wake him up."

"He glows."

"He lived in the darkest depths before wandering back up here for food."

"Why'd you show me?" I said, straightening.

"I told you-I like you. And it's in my job description. I certainly hope you have a way around."

"Of course I do, barring another of those things. I can always check the layout of the cave."

"Can you?" Dex asked curiously. He seemed to be studying me. "That's quite a useful gift. I just can't wait to see what you do next. You're quite full of surprises."

I was taken aback. "Umm….Thanks?"

He shook his head exasperatedly. He grabbed my hand again and led me back through the caves.

When we were back in the cave where I had been contacting the dead, he turned to me. "Pretty soon you're going to be in something that you can't get out of so easily. You may have to sacrifice yourself to help your friends. Are you willing to do that?"

"Of course." I said without hesitation.

"Loyalty without hesitation is a powerful thing, but make sure you aren't being dragged into something you can't get out of. Your loyalty makes you dangerous, but can also make you foolish. You can close your eyes and open them to see other parts of your reality. You might want to do that for other things too."

"Are you sick? Has the robed man addled your brain?"

He grinned but didn't back down. "Just remember what I said. Until later." He darted in and gave me a kiss on the lips and was gone before I could react.

I froze up for a moment and then shook my head hard. I had work to do, and just because he was being an outrageous flirt meant nothing. I trotted back to the others.

When I got back, they leapt on me.

"Where were you?"

"Don't you know it's dangerous?"

"-expressly told you-"

"Going off alone!"

"Quiet!" I hissed. "I'll explain everything if you shut up!"

They all looked at me with varying degrees of shock. I took the opportunity to stress their need to make as little noise as possible.

"You all need to be extremely quiet. Remember when I told you there was almost nothing living in this cave? I was wrong. Do not drink from the pools around here, and do not yell. The thing is huge." My hushed whisper they heard without having to strain. "And it would not be a good idea to wake it up. I don't think we'll put it in a good mood. We're going to take a detour. It'll take a bit longer but it will be safer in the long run."

"We can't afford to lose time, though! How long will it take?" Jean asked.

"Doesn't matter." I gritted. "Jean. We. Don't. Want. It. Awake. Understand? Judging by the size and how it looked, it eats groups like us for appetizers. And it came from the depths of the caves!"

"So?"

"So? That means it's a predator. That means it will eat until it can't fit anything into its body without busting a seam. It has too, or it won't survive. That also means that it is aggressive to anything smaller than it. And we are smaller."

"Are you sure?" She asked in token resistance.

"Yes."

"Alright." She sighed. "I follow. So shall we go, since we need to take the long way?"

Everyone pulled their bags up and I led them deeper into the caves.

* * *

Herman shall take the reviews! 

Raliena: Kinda hard not to make distinctions after awhile, I suppose. Glad you liked the last chapter.

PrincessofWildfire: Thank you, I was trying to give a little more insight into her, as she does seem to constantly change, however slightly.

Asteria: Hope you liked the caves! I know I didn't go too indepth, but I'll try to later. They're just in the first cave system, after all.

AnonGirl88: Glad you understand. I hope you enjoyed the chapter for all the time it took!

Chrissy: Thank you! I was just doing an experiment, but it appeared to work quite well.

I hope you all enjoy the chapter!


	42. Hard places

A/N

Alright, new record: A whole month. Sorry, everyone, my new excuses are as follows: Wisdom teeth removed and christmas shoping, along with finals. I'm trying to get myself back into things, and it's so hard. But I won't give up! I will get this thing done (there's only a few chapters left, anyway) though it may take me a half year to do so.

* * *

Hurrying through the tunnels, I found myself aware of my surrounding to a degree I hadn't noticed before. Being on edge was sharpening my skills. 

And making me paranoid. My mind was still on something we'd left a good bit behind now.

One can never be too careful with glowing monsters on hindsight.

I also had to keep an eye out for anything else. Who knew when we'd reach the end of its territory and we found ourselves up against a new and different threat. Best to keep on my toes.

And it had not truly escaped me that my friends and I are going into a heavily guarded area with no plan. Hopefully Mr. McCoy and the other thinkers of our group would have one.

I landed on all fours from a small leap off an overhanging rock. I quick glance around confirmed there was no other way down, and I told the others so.

This was a new cave system, one of about three we had to pass through. There was an easier way into this one than jumping down four feet after a winding tunnel, but hindsight tended to come back into play.

"Be careful not to make too much noise." Jean warned as Kitty phased down through the rock to land noiselessly on the ground.

"Got it." She whispered back.

The others made a slightly less graceful descent, but it was hurried and, overall, quiet.

There was a bright flicker of light from behind me and I turned to glance back at Jubilee, who had a sparkler like energy in her hand.

"Needed a little light." She squeaked. I nodded and she visibly relaxed. Light had been easy to come by in the caves mostly, but this new cave system was far darker than the last.

I stopped and touched the cave wall to recheck my course, then started off again. I felt like I could walk these caves blindfolded, but decided not to in favor of making sure my friend's didn't lose confidence in me.

Yeah, that would probably be the best.

"Is it much farther?" Kitty asked. She and Rahne were walking with me ahead of the others, they only a few steps behind me. Oddly enough, Kitty seemed to be excited, Rahne determined.

I didn't comment on it. I was feeling sick myself.

* * *

Hours later, I could breathe out easily. We were actually in the third system, almost underneath the point of exit, and we were taking a rest while I was giving the layout to Mr. McCoy. 

"What exactly is the plan?" Ray asked.

"Well…" Jean looked a little uncomfortable. "Since we have nothing of importance to barter, we were going to do the only thing we can do."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Which is?" Rogue asked.

"We're going to make him send us home by causing so much trouble for him it would be to his benefit."

"….That's your plan?"

"For lack of a better one, yes."

"We are so screwed."

"Quiet." She snapped. "Look, we have the firepower to take out a small army. And, AND! We have an edge. We have a girl that can tell us the layout of our attack." She looked to me.

I didn't answer straight away. Piecing something intelligible from the animals I could get things from (a few brave bugs, some other creatures that escaped detection, and the moving patterns of the voices of Alistair's pets) was a task in itself, and I had to be careful not to make a mistake.

"There's four towers, each one needs to be taken out quickly, that's where most of the danger signals come from. I can't be sure though. The main building is housing most of Alistair's creatures-take out that and you take out what I estimate is half the fighting force."

"Sounds like a lot of guesses." Rogue put in. I nodded.

"I don't have the necessary eyes required to give you an exact figure, but it'll be close."

"We'll have to live with that. Where's our target? This 'Soul King?'" Scott asked. He had managed to start gaining a little authority. He may have been blind, but obviously still had the guts to lead.

"There's something large happening on the south tower. I'm getting weird vibes, even Alistair's pets are wary of it. I would suggest heading there."

"Right. We have to stay in groups. Ororo, you had better take some and I will take some. I will take Sam, Rogue, Scott, Crepuscule if he doesn't mind, and Jean. We'll attack the fighting force and try to knock down some of the towers. You'd better take Ray, Rahne, Kitty, Jubilee, and Danny. Head for Danny's trouble spot and we'll meet you there."

Ms. Monroe agreed. She knew out groups, with the exception of Ray, had the least power. We were also the fastest and quickest to infiltrate.

We stepped out with a new sort of determination, and soon the cave system sloped upwards.

We were probably about to do something so incredibly stupid that the world would never be the same, or our perception of it. We'd probably make mistakes. But it was too late to worry now.

A scent hit my nose, barely there, yet it sent warning bells off in my head. It smelled like…

CRUNCH!!

I looked back to see Kitty turning as white as sheet. I followed her gaze as she looked down to see what she stepped on.

A skull.

A very familiar looking skull. A very human-like skull.

Kitty opened her mouth. I tried to yell to her to stop.

The words never made it out of my mouth. She screamed, and it echoed of the walls of the caves like a high pitched thunder.

Damn it. Now we had trouble. Even worse than they realized. Parts of the caves were groaning.

She clapped her hands over her mouth, but the damage was done. And in my mind I felt…an awareness. A very calculated mind, slowly processing with as little words as possible.

_Scream._

_Creatures._

_Food._

"We have to go. Right now!" I yelled, leaving caution to the wind. "Move! Encroth is awake and he's coming!"

The others heard the urgency and charged for the exit of the cave, somehow managing to get into the groups. Behind me I could almost hear his legs clicking over rocks as he moved over the rocks with ease, drawing closer every second. He was fast. Much too fast. We had to get out.

I squinted my eyes against the light of the exit and charged through, scattering dirt and following Rahne closely. The guards that had been standing at the entrance didn't have a chance before we took them out.

"Everyone go! We only have one chance!" Jean yelled as she flew through the air.

Encroth behind, Soul King's forces ahead…we were in a fix to say the least. But it's too late now.

Far too late.

* * *

Anongirl88: I updated, and I know it took me forever, I'm sorry. I hope you enjoyed it anyway. 

Asteria: Yeah, but apparently half the time she attracts the very annoying. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

PrincessofWildfire: Yeah, I like the Dahk complex. It seems to be making her more independent. I'm glad you liked Dex's line and everything, and I hope you find something in this chapter noteworthy as well.

Herman shall take the reviews!


	43. The Breaking Point

A/N

Sorry again, but I made this chapter a bit longer to appease the angry readers. Hopefully, I'll have a good bit of time soon, and it won't take me ten months to write two chapters, and again, I apologize. Senior research papers are here with a vengeance and I gotta devote most of my writing attention to it.

A little key to help you read, as mental speech runs rampant

( ) Indicates Danny's speech with animals

Indicates speech through human telepathy

_Italics _indicate speech by animals to Danny

* * *

Rahne and I took the lead without any encouragement. She was in wolf form without missing a beat and keeping in tight with me as I ran straight towards the main building. Absolute mayhem was happening behind me. Kitty and Jubilee were keeping up, but Ray and Mr. McCoy fell behind to help the others stop the sudden outpour of metal soldiers.

I couldn't stop running. There was a voice screaming in my head to keep going straight, that what was behind was much more dangerous than in front. It was all I could do to steer myself in the right direction.

The main building was black and foreboding, almost ten stories high, with large openings in the sides that large winged shapes began to clumsily pour out of.

Keep running. Keep running, danger behind, I could hear the voice prodding. I was only too happy to oblige.

The doors of the main building slammed open and a massive figure with a spiked Morningstar trudged out. I was only a few hundred feet away but panic wasn't stopping me. I couldn't stop, even though I heard Jubilee scream and saw Rahne stop running.

It was covered in putrid green armor, looking like a steroid induced version of the other warriors, and as I ran towards it, it began to swing the Morningstar in a frightening arc.

Panic and fear, knowing about things to a certainty the others couldn't understand, the sudden mentality of an animal that's been cornered on all sides and only wants to run and escape, suddenly cracked some sort of barrier that I had no idea was there, pouring in information to a terrifying degree.

This was nothing like when I sat down and listened, or heard from animals what was going on in their worlds, or even when I tuned myself with animals to hear messages over long distances, when I was a bit out of my head.

This was everything. Everything crashing in like a torrent covering every inch of my mind's eye.

And I was still running. But everything, everything seemed to be changing. Not in the physical sense, but my own perception. What I saw before as huge an horrible suddenly turned and bared its weak spots to me.

I was only ten yards away, but fear was being pushed down suddenly as a crystal clear view of everything that the green soldier was began to make itself known to me. Its speed was greater than mine, its weight, its height, its aggression, and most certainly the strength.

But that's where the advantage stopped. It wasn't as agile as I was. Nor was it seeing what I was seeing.

Six yards.

I could sense the muscles flexing, spinning the ball and chain.

Four yards.

Shoulder pulls back, carrying weapon into a full arc.

Two yards.

Its grip tightens, leaning forward, bringing the crushing chained weight behind it.

One yard.

So sure of itself as the Morningstar rushes at my body…

A dozen things flashed through my mind as once as I stopped my foot just within three feet and bent over backwards, falling to my knees and sliding under the vicious trajectory.

I felt it fall behind me and saw it without bothering to glance. Somehow the numbers of eyes increased without the increase of animals. Before I stopped sliding I straightened my back and slammed my hands to the ground, forward rolling to my feet behind the green giant.

I ducked down as rush of air moved past my head, the backhand of the giant. I jumped onto its back, causing it to go berserk.

It swung about, trying to dislodge me, but I had already dug my fingers into what I determined to be the weakest spot.

The armor in the back of its head.

What had seemed totally seamless earlier now had cracks and flaws, so obvious that it in itself was unnerving. These seams were where my fingers were digging in, the metal soft, like flesh.

I pulled back hard with one arm, pulling a piece of metal off like a shell. A stench hit me, like rotting vegetables.

Which, strangely enough, was exactly what it was. Decaying plant matter filled the entire helmet cavity, save the large purple glowing blob in the front of it all.

The metal piece was still in my hand, and the creature underneath me jerked about, now flailing more desperately, as if it understood that I had the upper hand. I flipped the metal so a point faced the blob and slammed it down with all my might.

The metal beast shuddered, then slumped and fell slowly to the ground.

I rolled off, careful not to get caught under the falling weight.

"Holy shit." I looked up to see Kitty staring from me to the creature. "Like, what in HELL was that?"

"That? That was…something. Let's get outta here, come on." I motioned her to follow. There was no more mad rush. No more need to infiltrate. They knew we were here. Encroth was destroying another tower, the one he had destroyed during my fight with the metal giant not satiating his hunger. Jean and the others of her group had toppled one already and were trying to dodge Encroth and the soldiers which were determined to attack them and Encroth, but were failing in both, as my friends moved too fast and Encroth was not amused to find them an unsuitable food source and dealt with them with prejudice.

Everything on the battlefield was all too clear. I knew Encroth's desires. I knew how the other soldiers moved, and their movements betrayed their nature as one with the creature I defeated. I saw with stunning accuracy how my own friends moved, Scott's need to wait for a signal from Jean before opening his eyes, Ray's flagging energy, Jubilee's fear, not only of the monsters, but of me…

And most importantly, what was about to come out of the main building.

Crepuscule had taken care of the Elephantine monsters that flew out with ease, but I could tell the monster coming out was more than he could handle.

"You guys go in. The halls are mostly deserted. Just be careful, and hit those metal soldiers on the back of the head really, really, hard."

"Where are you going?" Kitty demanded as Jubilee blinded a pet of Alistair's, one of the dog monkeys, by blasting it in the eyes with fireworks.

"I'm going to go talk to Encroth. He's hungry." With that I ran off, weaving in and out of soldiers and monsters alike, towards the massive glowing insect tearing through his second tower like paper.

(HEY! HEY! KING SPIDER! YOU WANT FOOD?)

_**WHO CALLS?**_

(OVER HERE!) I waved my arms and stopped. I'd need room to maneuver if he thought I looked tastier than what was slithering towards the opening in the main building.

**_FOOD_**. He raised up, massive pinschers clacking together.

(NOT GOOD FOOD!) I called back, still waving my hands.

_**DON'T CARE. FOOD.**_

(BETTER FOOD OVER THERE!) I waved at the building desperately. He kept his attention on me.

**_FOOD HERE. EASIER TO CATCH_**. He lunged forward and I rolled. His pinscher smashed into the ground where I had been. I scrambled backwards as he tried to skewer me again.

/Danny/

Jean! She'd try to help, and she'd get hurt, possibly killed. I thought as hard as I could, hoping she'd understand.

/JEAN! GO AWAY/

/OWW/ She yelped. I danced out of Encroth's range. He hadn't noticed her yet, but my talking to her was taking away my reaction time. If I spent too much concentration on her, he'd get me.

/Jean, trust me, go! Ray needs you more than me, he's tired! GO/ I yelled the last thought, hopefully driving the point home.

Just in time. Encroth put on an extra burst of speed and it took all I had to dodge out of the way.

_**PREY STILL.**_

(You really expect me to do that?) I retorted. (Encroth would have a better meal at that place.)

He suddenly became very still. I could almost see the mental cogs turning.

_**YOU SPOKE MY NAME.**_

(Yes?) I said a little guardedly. This was out of character for an animal.

_**SPEAK WHAT YOU WISH. YOU HAVE SPOKEN MY NAME, THEREFORE YOU MAY COMMAND.**_

I stopped and stared. He stayed still. "You're kidding me. I went through all that…for this?"

He made no answer. Which I didn't really expect, as it was mostly directed at me.

An ear-splitting scream tore through the air as a monster with three heads(what looked to be boar, canine, and snake, all attached to a furred, snake like body that was held up by short but strong looking insectoid legs, and to be held in air by rows upon rows of wings) appeared at an opening in the main building, baring fangs and tusks to the crowd below and to Crepuscule above.

(Ahh….Go destroy the monster that is currently crawling out of the main building and snarling at everyone? The one with three heads?)

VERY WELL. PREY WILL LIVE. THIS TIME. DO NOT EXPECT TO COMMAND ENCROTH AGAIN.

No problem, I thought to myself as he rushed through enemy squads to fight the beast as it snaked to the ground.

I felt a certain wobbliness in my legs. I had just faced certain death. If I hadn't known Encroth's name…

A bell went off in my head but I pushed it aside. This was no time to think about anything but the task at hand.

I took a few deep breaths and mentally checked that I was still there. Encroth's mind had been so alien it had threatened to overpower my senses. And in the state they were in, I was in a mental state of vertigo. I had to put everything straight and quickly, because predators were quick to leap on the unwary.

A few more deep breaths and everything was put back into focus. A sudden pang of panic hit when I realized I was surrounded on all sides.

No ducking, no running, would save me from this Metal soldiers, Alistair's pets, other strange creatures…all around me…all…

Dead.

I looked around in shock. Those that had faces looked surprised. None of them looked frightened, or angry. Or harmed. Just…surprised.

My stomach, somehow behind me all this time, suddenly caught up with me. I promptly lost anything that had stayed in my stomach for the last few days.

That…this…it wasn't me, was it? No I couldn't have done it. Something came in while I was trying to recover and killed them all.

"I like to refer to it as souls leaving bodies."

I looked up to see the cloaked man.

* * *

Asteria: Thanks. Hope you like the chapter!

Anongirl88: I don't think he'd like sushi anyway. Oh well. Thanks for the offer. I hope you like the chapter even though it's late.

Chrissy: Thanks! I like their plan too. I hope you didn't mind the wait too much!

Raliena: Thank you, I hope you liked the chapter!

PrincessofWildfire: I like Encroth, personally. He's vicious, mean, and utterly insect-like. Yeah, I'd hate to have the powers too. I meant more like the caves were about to cave in, but the way you put it is really interesting too. I hope you like this chapter as well.

Herman will take the reviews! Beware cloaked men with hidden agendas!


	44. Walls Tumbling Down

A/N

Hey! Another update! I'm getting a little better. This story only has about two more chapters, so keep with me please! Thanks for putting up with me!

* * *

"Thank you so much for making all of this possible. We could not have cut out this annoying little circumstance without your help." He said. 

I frowned slightly. My stomach groaned in protest. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been following your movements for quite awhile. I had to wait until the proper moment arose to intervene." His voice was smug again, which was annoying me to no end. The fight was still going on. Encroth was tearing the other monster to pieces.

"What, are you trying to say you had all this planned?" I asked a little sarcastically.

"Oh, no. We have no way of influencing thoughts directly. In fact, it was almost a point when whether or not your group got here at all would have made no impact whatsoever. But you managed to get here at the vital moment, and made it possible for me to deal with everything else."

"Uh hunh. So, why don't you lay it out for me since I'm not a high and mighty whatever it is you are and couldn't possibly understand the stuff you are talking about."

"I didn't expect you to understand. Humans have low attention spans. But I won't trouble you with details. You made it possible for me to find a way through the Soulking's defenses, because you took his mind to other matters. Essentially, your psychic's plan to 'annoy him until he sends you home' worked."

"How is he going to send us home if you appear to be here to kill him?"

"I'm so glad you pay attention to minute details. I will send you home."

I frowned. "You know, if you told us that instead of giving us the runaround, we probably would have done it."

The hooded man waved impatiently. "I don't have time to explain the implications of later actions to humans that would never understand anyway. Just consider your mission an accomplishment if you all survive the next few hours."

He was covered in smoke before I could ask what he meant. Then he disappeared.

Jerk.

"I really dislike that guy." I wiped some sweat of my forehead and glanced around. The others were doing well. Jean and Ray had found each other and teamed up with scott to take out an elephantine monster Crepuscule had missed. Rahne, Jubilee and Kitty were halfway up the main building, phasing one of Alistair's monsters through a wall.

Speaking of the little man….

Alistair was sneaking around the back of Mr. McCoy and Ms. Monroe as they kept an ugly looking iron soldier at bay. I started moving towards his position, a place near the rubble of one of the left towers.

I didn't like this man. He struck me as pathetic little whiner before and the fact that he creates ugly flying elephants does nothing to improve my opinion of him. The fact that he doesn't even make the creatures correctly makes it worse. I didn't know how he got here. I don't care about that either.

I crept up from behind more silently than I've ever done. My clumsiness didn't hinder me. It was non-existent. It was as if my body now realized what my mind wanted and was only too happy to comply.

I scooped up a rock from the ground and walked toward Alistair as he was muttering something from a scroll and looking at the soldier. It seemed to be slowly overtaking Mr. McCoy and Ms. Monroe, and it didn't take me long to put two and two together.

I brought the rock down hard on Alistair's head. His eyes looked at me in shock, then the scroll dropped and he fell unconscious.

A shriek pierced the air and I looked up to see the metallic soldier that they'd been fighting stumble and fall.

I saw in my mind's eye the scroll start to bubble. I didn't think too much about it.

Mr. McCoy gave me a thumbs up and swung off after Ms. Munroe that jumped on another group of soldiers that had Sam and Rogue backing up.

Then, as luck would have it, the scroll I didn't pay attention to decided to catch my full and undivided attention by spewing smoke.

I glanced down at it confused. Now that I looked at it, it was beginning to swell.

"Ahh…." My body jumped back into screaming 'Run!' I didn't argue.

I ran back the way I came at full speed, but only got about twelve steps when a blast of air propelled me forward and made me hit the ground fourteen feet away.

The scroll that Alistair had been reading from exploded.

He had been over there. Now there was nothing but a large black mark that steamed in the earth.

I guess it was a long time coming.

I got up and dusted myself off. As I did, I became more aware of details in my mind eye opening up even more than before. I looked up to see dozens of Morphos gliding over the black mark and then over me.

'Attracted to magic' I thought to myself. Magic must be crawling over this place. I was too busy to realize before, but morphos butterflies were everywhere. They were coming down in swarms.

And through their eyes I saw things that I had never seen before.

At the top of the main building was the Soulking, not as humans saw him, but through the eyes of creatures that could see so much more. It was not horrifying to see, but like a strange, crystallized being moving around in a body it created. And even stranger, another one was there as well, with a image blurred around it that looked like a hood…

"You little jerk." I whispered. "Your Soulking is just another one of you. That's why you couldn't fight him outright. And why you're fighting him now. You don't want anyone to know."

Too late.

A sudden bright explosion that had a horrible screeching noise blinded the butterflies and me as well, being so connected with them. My body and true senses felt nothing. It was all in my head.

It still hurt, like a burning sensation in the eyes. I rubbed them out of reflex.

"Danny! LOOK OUT!" I heard someone scream. I think it was Jean. My mind was dazed.

Something rushed past my head to slam into whatever it was sneaking up on me from behind. I shook my head hard to get butterflies back in the back of my attentions. I turned to see Crepuscule leap onto his hind legs and bat the head right off an iron soldier with a well placed paw.

That probably hurt.

He turned and smacked me on the forehead with his chin. "Pay attention! You could have gotten killed!"

"Oww! Watch it!" I put a hand to my forehead. "That hurt."

"Sorry."

"No you aren't." An idea hit me. "Crepuscule, could you fly me up there?"

I pointed to the main building. To the top to be exact. I wanted to see what was going on with both sets of eyes.

"It's dangerous. Magic is coming off in waves around the top. I think the Soulking is trying to make a spell."

"I doubt it."

"How do you know?" He asked suspiciously.

"Just call it a hunch. Well?"

"It's dangerous."

"So is here, apparently." I pointed at the head that had landed five feet away.

He hesistated, then nodded. "Very well. At least you won't be caught unawares."

"Thanks." I stepped on his outstretched paw and got on his back. "Fly up there so we can see what's going on but not close enough to not be able to move away."

"I doubt I can do both." He muttered as he jumped into the air. I took a moment to give a mock salute to Jean as she watched us leave. She and the other two had joing with Rogue and Sam and had been (I think) fighting a small group of iron soldiers.

I looked around. Alistair's monsters seemed to be running away from the fight. Without Alistair, they were just poor, frightened beasts. I felt sorry for them.

I closed my eyes and called the butterfly portion of my senses back. The first thing I noticed was that their movements lost the drive of simply finding magic and fluttering, like normal butterflies and flowers. Now they were moving in unison, forming a tighter and tighter curve around the main building. There weren't enough yet for humans in general to see the pattern, but more and more Morphos were joining the pattern, dancing around like moths to the flame. I could sense their need to fly to the magic, but there was so much! Too much would burn them, they couldn't carry it. It would burn holes in their delicate wings, make them plummet to the ground and die.

But it was alluring, and that's why they stayed, and why more came.

I kept the tide back a bit so I could watch the fight with my own eyes.

"Who is that?" Crepuscule asked, pointing at the hooded man.

"I don't know! He's the guy that gave me information. The other guy is the Soulking!"

The Soulking. His body was almost exactly like the robed man, except his hood was drawn back to show a surprisingly human face. Too human to be human. The hair was just right, a ginger the exact cut it should be, mouth full of emotion, eyes expressive, and a trustworthy face that immediately set off the panic reflexes in my body. And even better, I was getting the same danger signals now from the robed man. He must've been masking himself somehow, or perhaps I could sense it now because the mental barriers that had kept me from seeing all of these things had fallen apart. This must've been why the animals stayed silent. Almost as if they were begging, 'Please don't notice me…'

I was beginning to hope they didn't notice us. But the butterfly portion of my mind's eye saw they were more interested in each other.

I saw them beyond the robes, straining against confining bonds, both crystalline forms attacking each other while the human bodies didn't move at all. I saw the waves of magic and felt Crepuscule move out of their path in the nick of time.

"The building is falling apart and they barely move!" Crepuscule yelled, bringing me back sharply.

"Don't get too close!" I said, gripping the rope around his neck tight. "Don't believe what you see! It's getting nasty down there."

Suddenly I saw something that stopped my blood cold. Kitty, Rahne, and Jubilee were almost to the top.

They wouldn't stand a chance. The building was falling to pieces, supports going first. The entire thing was already groaning in protest.

"Crepuscule! We have to stop them!" I pointed wildly to a floor just below the top floor. I knew he couldn't see them, but I did, and we needed to stop them.

"Who?"

"The girls! They'll walk into a deathtrap on the roof. We have to stop them! Fly!" I yelled.

He shortened his wingspan and dived down.

* * *

Raliena: Ya gotta take your time if something's going to come out good, I suppose. Thanks! I hope you enjoy the chapter! 

Anongirl88: Heh, thanks for understanding. My paper is finally done, and for the first time all year my afternoons are free! Ring out the bells! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

PricessofWildfire: Well, I have been busy. At least I keep up with one of them! Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Herman will take the reviews!


	45. Goodbye, my friend

A/N

Two chapter update! I must be on a roll! Thanks for keeping up with me everyone. I hope to start a new AU after this is finished. I've been thinking on it for awhile, but I wanted to finish this one first. There should be just another chapter and all will be well.

* * *

"Go left! Go left! Around the pillar! They'll reach the window before we do!"

"Where do you get this information?" He yelled as he darted past a piece of falling rock and headed straight for the pillar.

"Don't ask! Fly! It's part of my mutation, okay? Just fly!" I yelled back as we whirled around the pillar like things possessed.

There was a large window two stories down. It was there I was hoping they'd catch sight of us and stop.

Crepuscule stopped a few feet away from the glass and a second later, Kitty, Rahne and Jubilee came running through the hall just beyond the window. They didn't see us.

"Plan B! We have to get their attention—AHHH!" I yelped as Crepuscule lurched forward and slammed against the window, breaking into the hall. He skittered on his back legs a moment, then tore after the three girls.

"Danny! Crepuscule! What are you-"

"Get on!" I snapped, cutting Jubilee off. "The buildings going to collapse!"

"But the Soulking-"

"He has his own problems! Come on, hurry!" I yelled as Crepuscule bent down slightly for them to hop up. Kitty sat behind me, Jubilee behind her and Rahne sitting at the rear.

"Get us out of here!" I ordered. Crepuscule moved carefully to not allow his back hooves to slip on the floor, then barreled back towards the way we came.

"What problems does the Soulking have?" Kitty asked over the noise of hooves.

"He and that guy I told you that I've been talking to are fighting on the roof!" I said back.

We reached the window and Crepuscule was out like a shot.

A loud groaning sound caused us all to look back at once. The part of the building the girls had been in was collapsing in on itself.

"Whoa…" Kitty breathed. "That would have been, like, a little disastrous."

"Just a little." Rahne muttered.

Crepuscule winged up, carrying us over the roof of the tower, well, the parts that were standing. The others of our mutant group were watching the fireworks on the ground. The iron soldier had been dispatched or just stopped working, Alistair's monster's had fled, the Demights which kidnapped us were not even anywhere near the castle, but I felt the remnants of a retreating troupe heading east. Encroth had killed and feasted and crept back to his hole in the earth to sleep. The entire place had been ransacked. If the Soulking lived, he'd have a heck of a time putting his life back together.

Speaking of him, it seemed the waves of magic were getting stronger. The Morphos were moving in patterns that my human eyes could see. And they had begun to give the roof a wider berth. The waves of magic already killed some of them.

As I watched, they became agitated. The magic was pulling in tight, building up energy…

"Crap."

The explosion of magic slammed Crepuscule to the side and for a second we were free falling. At the end of that second, Crepuscule got his bearings back and snapped his wings down to get out of the way.

"What was that!" Jubilee screamed.

"Shockwaves! Hang on, there's another coming!" I yelled. "Crepuscule! Lean down!"

He turned his wings to lean down and we barely missed the next magical shockwave.

"The ground! Get on the ground!" I yelled helplessly. The air was so think with energy I had to pull away from the butterfly portion of my mind's eye to see. The Morphos were evacuating as fast as their wings would take them.

That wasn't a good sign. I could feel it.

"Down! Down! We need to get down!" I yelled again. Crepuscule flapped his wings harder, unable to dive because of the weight.

"Guys…" Rahne's voice came with a hushed whisper I heard all too well. I looked over my shoulder.

Something was coming that I didn't need butterfly eyes to see. It was a hazy outline of something that didn't look like anything except a ripple at first, but I've had enough experience to know that that was not a good thing.

We were only fourteen feet from the ground. We weren't going to make it. It moved faster than he did.

I heard whispers of something that sounded like a prayer, though I didn't know from who.

Then it hit.

I felt Crepuscule's terror as he lost control of his flight. I felt Kitty grab my shirt in a desperate attempt to keep us together. I heard Jubilee and Rahne scream in terror as the world shook and turned. I felt blood run down my fingers as the scars that had mostly healed on my hands opened suddenly and began stinging in pain.

Then, everything I knew disappeared and it all went black.

* * *

It was cold and dark. There was no light, but the feel of dankness was everywhere.

I got up slowly. My body didn't hurt, but I remembered vaguely that it should. I had riding on Crepuscule's back, and we got caught in the wave…and my hands…

I felt across my hands. No blood. No feel of dried blood.

I crouched down slowly, feeling my way to make sure not to hit something I couldn't see. There were no animal voices here, not even the slight brush of hunger. I reached out, and found some insects. That was all.

That was all I needed.

I walked a little more confidently, stepping over stones I would have tripped over and sometimes misjudging distances. It was hard to translate from bug sight to my own.

A quick check confirmed that I was alone. The entire place was a large domelike structure with no entrances, and more importantly, no exits.

So, how did I get in? For bugs to be so well accustomed to the place, it wasn't made overnight. They'd still be in confusion. So, I must have been put here somehow. Kitty, perhaps? No. If Kitty had been here, I should have been able to find he bugs would have made a ruckus if Kitty fell through their nests. So, how?

"I see you are awake."

Ah. The robed man strike again.

A small bit of light shined over me. I turned to look at him.

"Win your fight?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"For the time being. I'm afraid he escaped when a certain child and her little friends got caught in a magical wave and had to be saved."

"Bet you must be ticked." I said nonchalantly.

"I am glad. Your group managed to put a stop to him. For now. I must show my gratitude for doing this favor to me."

"How generous. What's the gratitude?"

"I will send your group back to your planet. I will return Crepuscule to his Adelia."

I frowned. I do a lot of frowning around him, I've noticed.

"You're being very kind about this. What's the catch?"

"You're very suspicious."

"I was taught by Mr. Logan. Suspicion is his forte."

"I see. Then I cannot fool you. There is a slight…condition."

"Which is…?"

"I saw what you were doing with the servant creature. Directing him. Normal humans, even normal magical peoples cannot see what you were directing him away from. I can only assume that you saw my conflict with the Soulking."

"Everyone did. You were on the roof." I pointed out, uneasy with the way this conversation was going.

"Not the way you saw. The way I know you saw."

"So, you aren't what you appear to be. Join the club, most people aren't. Or are

you trying to cover up the fact that the Soulking is the same as you are?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You only proved what I feared. You have two choices."

"Two choices? What if I don't like them?"

"Then I will have to dispose of you."

"I see."

"You may become my servant. I will grant you power and you will be my agent in the human world."

"How lucky." I deadpanned. I don't like leashes. This sounded like a leash.

"You also have the option of having your memory erased of the battle. And of all the times we met."

"How convenient." I said sarcastically. " So, as long as your appearance is kept up, you don't care what happens to anything else."

"I did not say that. I gave you these options to help you."

I snorted. "Options? Bull. You give me nothing except unacceptable decisions. I won't let you mess with my mind, and you are not making me your little attaché, to come to your beck and call. How do you dispose of people? Leave them to rot in these little caves? I don't think you've made a real effort to give me a chance."

"Most humans would jump at the chance to have power to do good."

"I'm not most humans. And you have no guarantee the power is to be used for good. I don't accept your terms."

"I will have to dispose of you."

"To protect your fragile persona? Why bother, anyway? Who am I going to tell? Who will care? I can keep secrets better than most, and really, who will care that you beat the tar outta some guy who's like you, anyway?"

"Those that worship my kind will find themselves sorely tried if they found the truth."

"Well, I haven't been meeting 'those that worship' your 'kind', so I don't think we have a problem. Besides, they all live here, right? Just send me back home, and I may never cross paths with them.

He seemed to ponder this.

"I have come up with new terms."

"Goody."

"If you're going to be sarcastic, I won't tell them to you."

"Go on."

"You may go home. However, if you do return to this world, you are not allowed to speak of this battle here or back on earth. You must guard this secret zealously."

"I'll put it in the back of my mind."

"There is one more thing."

"Which is?"

"I know of your psychics. I want to place a failsafe that will render them unable to view the memory."

"And will this rendering hurt me?" I asked guardedly.

"No. Not unless you voluntarily allow them to view it."

"Fine. Just get it over with. And if I feel you poking around, I'll bite you."

"Crass child." He placed a finger on my forehead. I felt a little lightheaded, then it was over.

I shook my head a bit. "So, when do I and the others go back?"

"Right now?"

"Hunh? Wait, I want to say goodbye to Crepuscule!" I said, glaring at him. He gave an exaggerated sigh.

"You have one minute." The air turned colder and as I watched, the cave warped into another cavern, where Crepuscule in his animal from was digging at a cave wall in annoyance.

The robed man nodded. I stepped forward. "Hey!"

Crepuscule's head wheeled around in surprise. He blinked at me, confused.

"I came to say goodbye. Me and the others are going home."

He padded over, looking at the robed man guardedly. "Home?"

"Yeah. Back to my world, where we first met. That guy," I jerked my thumb back at the robed man, "will take you back to Adelia, he said. Say hi to her for me, okay? Tell her thanks for everything. And if you see any of the others we saw, tell them thank you on my behalf, will you?"

"If that is what you wish." He tapped my shoulder with his nose. "Are you sure it is safe to trust him?"

"Yeah. For now. I wouldn't in the future though." I patted his nose. "Be good alright? Remember, you're nobody's servant now. You're your own man. If I'm in this world ever again, I'll drop by and say hello."

He said nothing. We both knew how hard it would be for me ever to come back.

"I will miss you, Lady Danny." He said softly. "You were a good friend. I hope that I find other people in my life with souls like yours. I cannot say that it wasn't frightening at times, but you made a world of difference. Good bye, my friend."

I hugged him around the neck.

"Your time is up."

"Somebody needs to slap you, robe boy." I patted Crepuscule on the neck after breaking the embrace. "Be good. Be tough. Don't let Adelia order you too much."

"I won't. Live well." He said as I stepped back.

"I plan to." I waved as the cave blurred.

We stopped back in the cave I was. I looked questioningly at him.

"Your journey home begins now. The others have already started. Are you ready?"

I nodded without hesitation.

"Very well. It is time." He reached out and grabbed my shoulder.

Here I come Julian. I'm coming home now.

* * *

Herman will take your reviews! 


	46. The End, Or is it?

"Ouch!"

"Eek! Like, I didn't know you were awake!"

"I am now." I sat up. The area was green, not barren at all. There was no cavern, just the blue sky with a slight amount of fluffy white clouds. There was grass everywhere. And right in front of me, there was an oak. "We're home." I said in wonderment.

"Yeah! Isn't it great! I have to talk to mom and dad, they're probably freaking, and I need to start on my computer again, I'm out of practice, and oh my gosh! How much studies have we missed?" Kitty started rambling in something I recognized as hysterical relief.

We were back! We were alive! We were home…

I felt a pang of sadness for a moment. I wish I could have said goodbye in person to everyone instead of sending it through Crepuscule.

I wish you the best, Crepuscule, you and everyone else back there.

I got up and looked around. Most of the others were lying on the ground, rolling like children on the grass and reveling in the feeling of home.

"Does anyone know where we are?"

"Jean called the Professor already." Rahne said from her perch on a fallen log. "He and Mr. Logan should be here soon. You arrived later than us, you know. We were worried."

"I'm fine." I said with a smile. "I just got started later, that's all."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No. I can't. I promised."

She nodded. "Promises are meant to be kept. I understand."

"Thanks."

The roar of the jet drowned out any conversation beyond that. A ragged cheer came out of all of us, even myself, when the Blackbird landed.

We held our breaths as the doors opened…

Letting out a lean, much taller than I last remembered him, floppy eared young mutant.

"MOMMY!"

I didn't have to lean down to catch him up in my arms. He was up to my shoulder easily. Taller even. He was bending down slightly.

I hugged him tight. Tighter than I'd hugged my brothers or sisters or even my parents. My eyes began to burn with tears.

He looked up into my face.

"What took you so long?"

I smiled. "I had some things to deal with, but I'm home now."

* * *

The rain pattered softly against the windowsill. There had almost been an international incident when we had been found not far from where I later learned Julian had been camping. The parents were furious, and almost yanked a few of us out, but succumbed to reason and just issued dire warnings to the Professor. 

I watched a lone drop slowly slide down the window. Its path seemed to go straight then turn off at the last second.

The main door outside was covered in water. It was a day for everyone to stay inside and get reacquainted with the world.

Apparently several occurrences happened while we were out. All of them caused some mental distress to another mutant whose name I had already forgotten. Warren, was it?

I heard Arcane even showed up. I remember smiling at the name. I hope I see him again. I already miss him.

I stretched my arms. My normal clothing of t-shirts and jeans had replace the garments I had worn through my adventure. In fact, everything about our adventures had been carefully stowed away from our sight, to give us peace of mind from something that had shaken us. Scott got his glasses and resumed his position as head of the team. Everything was back to order. Doggy and the brothers spent their time lying on couches they weren't supposed too.

It was as if nothing had happened.

I turned on my heel and stalked back to my room. Julian and Jamie were running through the halls trying to escape unscathed from their latest mischievousness. They passed me with a wave.

I got to my room after passing an angry Rogue charging after them. Before I opened the door, I examined the palm of my left hand. It was concrete evidence that every time I had relied on the power was never coming back. I had tried to summon it back. The Professor offered to help. I turned him down every time. I like the man. I don't trust him not to look where he is not wanted. Now I was back to being as weak as I was when I first started-just mentally tougher.

I opened the door, banishing the thoughts to some dark corner of my mind. There were hardly any animals in the room. Herman was in a snit and stayed in his cave with the other bats, mumbling something about disrespect. I didn't delve. We all need space. The other animals had left, not feeling welcome in my room. There was a snake in my closet and a small family of dormice sleeping in my bed frame in a hole the mother had chewed.

It had taken me awhile to clean it, but the room was spotless, or mostly, now. The bed was made, with nothing cluttering it.

Which did not explain the pouch on the pillow.

I picked up the leather pouch and felt it a moment. The snake had seen nothing. The dormice slept. I opened it carefully and pulled out a sharp, nasty looking spike with a red tip.

I frowned as I examined it. It was definitely one I'd seen before.

Further exploration produced a note folded small.

_'Remember, it's the green tips that are dangerous.'_

My hand jerked in shock and I looked around my room suspiciously while I unfolded the note and read the message.

_'Congratulations on finding your way home. You handled the Encroth situation quite nicely. I won a bet. I don't usually pick the losing team, but you're full of surprises!'_

I gaped at the signature.

_Much love_

_Dex_

_P.S. I probably will pop in from time to time. One must maintain ties._

I stared at the postscript in disbelief. Then I put my finger to my temple to fend away a headache.

How did he do this? How could he do this?

But if he could…does that mean he could take me back sometime too?

The possibilities were astounding. And maybe he wasn't that bad…

Maybe…It wouldn't be so bad to talk with him again.

Maybe.

* * *

**THE END (OR IS IT?)

* * *

**

Anongirl88:Heh, thankyou for your enthusiasm, but I'm afraid you'll have to read my note. But I'm glad you liked the story. You and Fishy are great! Thanks!

Raliena: Herman says thanks and sends along a chocolate ant (sans any bugs, it's just styled that way) and thank you so much for keeping with the story! I'm glad you liked it!

For anone whose review I missed, I just want to say thank you to you as well.

Herman will take your reviews after this brief (right….) message from the author. Rambling is apologized for beforehand.

A/N

I left it at the end this time to say this-This story is the longest one I've written not counting the Two cents. It took me a good long time too. And I rather like it, though there were many things I would have done different. But now that it's over, I hope you all liked it too. I'm sorry I was horrible with updates for the last third of it. Senior year hit with a vengeance and I was not able to do the writing I wanted too. I hope I get better. And, for those of you who stuck with me, thank you so much. You guys are great, I would have kept writing it anyway, but to know people still thought it was interesting was very heartening for me. I believe after this I'm going to start with a clean slate on updating, because I'm afraid that the other stories have gotten where, since I have no updated in so long, I would never be able to make them the stories they were meant to be. This story almost got lost too, but I liked it too much to let it go. Those stories will not be updated, but will stay in my account, as I like some of them rather well. I can't update because my train of thought for them hit the 'railway closed' portion of my head and regrettably, did not stop. There isn't much salvage to collect to make a new track. Anyway, enough with the metaphors. The current storyline won't be messed with even though the stories won't be updated, that is to say, Danny and Dex and everyone else and Doggy will still be around. I'm going to start an AU next, which should be rather entertaining if I can pull it together. Till then, I hope you enjoyed the story! Have a great rest of your Spring break!


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